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A2 UP FRONT
Monday 27 February 2023
Some Democratic-led states seek to bolster voter protections

Continued from Front Fund. Maryland’s proposal lot of input from the public
includes a requirement for that’s able to be given,”
The measures are taking local voting changes to re- she said. “So this would do
a much wider approach ceive preapproval, mirror- a lot to make these pro-
than legislation targeting ing core provisions of the cesses more transparent.”
a single aspect of voting or federal law that was struck In Maryland’s Baltimore
elections law. They seek to down by the Supreme County, a lawsuit claimed
implement on a statewide Court a decade ago. the county council’s map
basis many of the protec- Maryland was not among packed most Black voters
tions under the federal Vot- the states, mostly in the into a single district. The
ing Rights Act of 1965, a South, that was covered state legislation would re-
law that many Democrats under the provision known quire jurisdictions in Mary-
and voting rights groups as preclearance before land with a history of voter
say is being stripped of its the court ended it. But discrimination to have re-
most important elements. lawmakers there saw it as districting and election
If the legislation is enacted, important because of per- changes cleared by the A woman votes at the Crystal Ballroom in New Britain, Conn.,
the states would join Cali- sistent concerns over how state attorney general. Nov. 8, 2022.
fornia, New York, Oregon, districts for local governing Democratic state Del. Associated Press
Washington and Virginia bodies have been drawn, Stephanie Smith, a co- “This bill strengthens our ered if the group speaking
in having comprehensive said Morgan Drayton, poli- sponsor of the legislation, commitment to voting ac- it is more than 2% of the
voting rights laws. cy and engagement man- said that despite Mary- cess and protections at a citizens of voting age in a
“It’s up to states now to en- ager at Common Cause land’s racial diversity and time of great stress on our particular municipality or
sure that the right to vote Maryland. history of diversity in its po- democratic institutions,” the group includes more
is protected,” said Janai “A lot of our maps here litical leadership, “access she said. than 4,000 citizens of voting
Nelson, president of the are drawn behind closed to the ballot and equitable Proposals in Michigan and age, under Connecticut’s
the NAACP Legal Defense doors, and there’s not a representation is uneven.” New Mexico address ha- legislative proposal.
rassment against election In New Jersey, advocacy
workers and voters, espe- organizations are pushing
cially those in minority com- to expand voting rights
munities. One of several legislation to include more
bills in New Mexico would groups that would be spe-
protect election officials, cifically protected from dis-
from the secretary of state crimination, including the
to county and municipal state’s sizable Arab Ameri-
elections clerks, from in- can population.
timidation. That would be “A reality is the federal
defined as inducing or at- VRA was originally crafted
tempting to induce fear, in 1965, and while there
and a violation would be have been other bills in
punishable as a fourth-de- the decade since, the VRA
gree felony punishable by doesn’t reflect the diversity
up to 18 months in prison. of the population of New
Michigan Secretary of Jersey in 2023,” said Henal
State Jocelyn Benson, a Patel, law & policy director
Democrat, said she will at the New Jersey Institute
seek similar protections for for Social Justice.
voters, including prohibit- Some state voting rights bills
ing firearms within a certain also seek to create data-
distance of polling places. bases for information that
“We need an explicit ban has not always been read-
on voter suppression and ily available, such as poll-
intimidation,” she said. ing place locations, vot-
Connecticut’s legislation ing rules and redistricting
would expand language maps. The bills also would
assistance for voters who specify that state judges in-
speak, read or understand terpret voting laws in a way
languages other than Eng- that ensures people main-
lish. Language assistance is tain their right to vote.
covered under the federal Democrats in Minnesota
law, but only specifies pro- are pushing numerous
tections for Spanish-speak- voting changes, includ-
ers and for Asian, Native ing restoring voting rights
American and Alaska Na- to felons as soon as they
tive language minorities. are released from prison,
Ballots offered in Arabic, allowing 16- and 17-year-
Haitian Creole and other olds to preregister so they
languages also are need- are ready to vote as soon
ed, said Steven Lance, pol- as they turn 18 and auto-
icy counsel at the national matically registering peo-
NAACP Legal Defense ple to vote when they ob-
Fund. tain or renew their driver’s
A language would be cov- licenses.q