Black Louisiana voters are under attack. With assaults on the right to vote coming from all angles — including discriminatory redistricting efforts, burdensome voter ID requirements, and polling site closures in predominantly Black neighborhoods — voter protections are critical, now more than ever.
When the federal Voting Rights Act (VRA) was enacted in 1965, it was supposed to protect Black voters from the kinds of discriminatory practices that are happening right now to decrease Black political power at the ballot box. But in recent years, the Supreme Court has severely undercut federal protections against voting discrimination, including drastically weakening the heart of the VRA in its Shelby County v. Holder decision. And right now, the Court is actively considering a case — Louisiana v. Callais — in which voting rights opponents are seeking to weaken Black voters’ ability to elect candidates of choice to Congress.
Callais is about more than just maps — it is about the future of a multi-racial democracy and the commitment to ensure that every vote counts and every voice is heard in the political process. Fair representation can lead to real change for Black Louisianians. Responsive and accountable leadership in Congress can help improve health care access, educational disparities, environmental safety, infrastructure, and more.
Louisiana needs to act now to provide its voters with critical protections against discrimination to create a truly free, fair, and representative multiracial democracy.
The Louisiana Voting Rights Act (also known as the LAVRA and filed as SB 365) will act as a crucial safeguard for voters, particularly for Black voters and other voters of color that have faced extensive discrimination in the past.
This legislation builds on the foundations of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, as well as successful State Voting Rights Acts enacted in Colorado, Minnesota, Connecticut, New York, Virginia, Washington, Oregon, and California.
Over 60 years ago, the passage of the federal VRA fundamentally reshaped American democracy, especially in Louisiana. The VRA removed many historical and systemic barriers to Black participation and representation and, within two years of the VRA’s passage, registration rates for voters of color in Louisiana nearly doubled.
But the promise of the VRA — the promise of a multi-racial, multi-ethnic democracy that thousands of activists marched, fought, and died for — is under sustained attack. Black political participation has been suppressed across the country, representation is distorted, and equal power is once again a far-off dream in many election districts. Discriminatory barriers to the ballot, such as polling places disproportionately closing in Black communities, have ensured that Black voter turnout has routinely and significantly trailed behind white communities.
Once, the VRA could have protected against these changes with its preclearance provision, the process by which states and localities with a history of racial discrimination in voting were required to submit changes to voting policies for approval by the federal government. But when preclearance was effectively eliminated in the federal VRA by the Supreme Court’s Shelby County decision, many of these places no longer have safeguards against discriminatory voting practices.
Confront threats to voter participation and access to voting opportunities that occur through discriminatory barriers to the ballot.
Protect against unfair district maps or election systems that weaken or drown out people’s voices based on their race.
Require certain counties or cities with a history of discrimination to obtain approval before making changes to voting practices.
Allow both the government and individuals to bring a case in state court to fight voting discrimination.
Administer an equitable pre-approval process to prevent discrimination in high-risk places.
State Voting Rights Acts (SVRAs) are wildly popular. 78% of voters across the country support their state legislators passing a State VRA.
With federal attacks on the right to vote increasing every day, it’s more important than ever that Louisiana enact the LAVRA to protect elections statewide. Whether it’s a lack of polling places in Black communities, significant disparities in voter turnout by race, or hidden agendas in redistricting designed to silence Black voices, Louisiana urgently needs to address discriminatory barriers to the ballot.
The LAVRA would go a long way to counteract both recent and historical efforts to diminish the voting power of Black Louisianians. Louisiana can and should lead in protecting the right to vote and promoting inclusive democracy by adopting the Louisiana Voting Rights Act.
