President Obama told civil rights leaders Monday that his administration would work to strengthen the Voting Rights Act in light of a Supreme Court decision striking down a key provision. After a White House meeting with more than a dozen attorneys, state lawmakers and civil rights activists, Obama senior adviser Valerie Jarrett tweeted that the administration wants “to ensure every eligible American has the right to vote.” The meeting came a month after the Supreme Court struck down the provision that required the federal government to pre-clear changes to voting systems in states that have a history of racial discrimination, mostly in the South.
The Obama administration and other critics of the decision have asked Congress to restore that provision. Some of Obama’s guests noted that the high court struck down only one part of the act, and most of it remains intact.
They also said several states, some emboldened by the court’s decision, are moving to suppress voting by minorities through voter ID laws and changing district lines. They said they would push Congress to beef up federal oversight of state voting systems in light of the ruling.
The Supreme Court decision “has opened the floodgates to discrimination at the ballot box and potentially set our nation back 50 years,” stated NAACP Chairman of the Board Roslyn Brock, who attended the meeting with Obama.
Full Article: Obama pledges to strengthen Voting Rights Act.