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Restore the Voting Rights Act

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LyndonJohnson_signs_Voting_Rights_Act_of_1965_0

Good:

President Obama will call for the restoration of the Voting Rights Act on its 50th anniversary Thursday, the White House said.

Obama will hold a teleconference to commemorate the landmark legislation and call for its renewal, following a 2013 Supreme Court ruling that voided one of its central provisions.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), who rose to prominence in the 1960s as a civil rights leader, will participate.

The event will allow Obama to draw a sharp contrast with Republicans, many of whom argue some provisions of the 1965 law went too far. It will take place on the same day as the first GOP presidential primary debate.

Releatedly, Martin O’Malley called for a constitutional amendment guaranteeing a right to vote.

Obviously, this Congress is not going to create a new Section 4 preclearance formula for the Voting Rights Act. And like Hillary Clinton’s proposed campaign finance amendment, an amendment guaranteeing a right to vote isn’t viable anytime soon, and as Shelby County shows any constitutional text is only as good as the judges applying it.

But the immediate practical effects aren’t the only consideration. Voting rights needs to be at the top of the agenda the next time the Democratic Party controls Congress and the white House, and Obama and O’Malley are helping with this agenda-setting. So I say more please.

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