The 1965 Voting Rights Act gave power to the Justice Department to block discriminatory voting changes. However, the attorney general provided a check on that power. The Supreme Court's Shelby County v. Holder decision, which deprived the Justice Department of this authority, left the department without any power in regard to voter protections, Garland wrote.He said that instead, the Justice Department was left with expensive, time-consuming tools, which have many of the same flaws that plagued federal law before 1965.In the wake of the 2020 election, Garland repeatedly stated that voting rights are a priority for the Biden administration. The attorney general has pledged to protect Americans' rights to democracy and has increased the number of staff in departments devoted to enforcement of voting rights this summer.In a June speech, Garland stated that while there are many issues in America open for debate, the right to vote is not one. The foundation of democracy is the right to vote, from which all other rights eventually flow.Voting rights legislation faces dire odds in Congress, given Democrats slim majorities in both chambers, and civil rights groups and activists have grown increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress in Washington as laws continue to pop up in Republican-controlled states that make it harder to vote.The Democrats' election and ethics reform package was passed by the House in March. Democrats will likely introduce a bill this week that would restore parts of the 1965 Voting rights Act, named after John Lewis, a civil rights icon.In Thursday night's op-ed Garland mentions Lewis twice, using a quote taken from a column published after Lewis' death last year.Lewis remembered a valuable lesson Martin Luther King Jr. taught him: Every person has a moral responsibility to speak up, stand up and be heard. You must speak up if you notice something wrong. Garland said that you must do something.
