“Republicans like Mitch McConnell who make laughable claims that there aren’t any barriers to voting are flat out wrong,” said Jermaine House of the DCCC. “Time and time again we have seen states pass politically motivated and restrictive voter ID laws to limit vulnerable communities’ access to the ballot box. Voting rights are and will continue to be compromised as long as House Republicans fail to bring the Voting Rights Act update to the House floor for a vote.”
Talking Points Memo: McConnell Declares ‘No Serious Barriers To Voting Anymore Anywhere In America’
By Tierney Sneed
June 1, 2016
Key Highlights
[…]Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) dismissed the efforts to restore the Voting Rights Act after it was gutted by 2013 Supreme Court decision. “A lot of this in my view doesn’t have anything to do with anything other than their estimation of what would give them an electoral advantage,” McConnell told USA Today, suggesting the efforts were motivated by Democratic partisanship. “It’s not really about knocking down barriers. There are no serious barriers to voting anymore anywhere in America.”
[…]McConnell told USA Today that he agreed with the 2013 Supreme Court decision in Shelby County v. Holder. The ruling invalidated the formula in the law that determined which states, based on their history of racist election procedures, were required to get federal approval for any changes in voting regulations. Since the decision, there’s been a slew of restrictive voting laws passed by states previously covered by the provision, many of which are now being challenged in court. “What was struck down were the provisions that absurdly treated the South differently,” McConnell told USA Today, in reference to the Shelby decision. “They don’t apply anymore. It’s 50 years later.”