Voting Rights: Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke Testifies Before the Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing; “One of the most monumental laws in the entire history of American freedom”

Remarks as Prepared

Chairman Durbin, Ranking Member Grassley, and Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, my name is Kristen Clarke and I serve as the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. Thank you for the opportunity to testify on the department’s work to implement and enforce the Voting Rights Act and the need to revitalize and restore the Act.

The Voting Rights Act is, as President Johnson said “one of the most monumental laws in the entire history of American freedom.” It is a law that has helped to truly transform American democracy. 

However, the progress that we have made is fragile. Recently, there has been a resurgence in attacks on voting rights including cuts to early voting periods; burdensome restrictions to register or vote; racially gerrymandered redistricting plans; polling sites eliminated or consolidated in communities of color; eligible voters purged from the rolls, and more. 

I am here today to sound an alarm. For the Justice Department, restoring and strengthening the Voting Rights Act is a matter of great urgency. The Supreme Court’s 2013 decision in Shelby County v. Holder suspended the preclearance process – eliminating the Justice Department’s single most powerful and effective tool for protecting the right to vote.

Before Shelby, the preclearance process enabled the department to swiftly block the implementation of many discriminatory and unconstitutional voting practices. Through Section 5, the department blocked over 3,000 voting changes, helping protect the rights of millions of citizens. In over 60% of blocked voting changes, there was evidence of intentional discrimination. We also know that the preclearance requirement deterred many jurisdictions from adopting discriminatory changes in the first place.

Too many jurisdictions have viewed the Shelby ruling as an invitation to adopt rules that disadvantage minority voters. Today, jurisdictions that want to restrict voting rights have what the Supreme Court memorably called the “advantage of time and inertia.” These new laws can be challenged only through long, protracted, resource-intensive, case-by-case litigation which we have pursued in states like Texas and North Carolina.

We are on the cusp of another potentially transformational moment. A new redistricting cycle has commenced. 2020 Census numbers show the U.S. has become an increasingly diverse nation, with population growth attributable to increases in the number of people of color.