Sixty years ago, Congress passed the most important piece of voting rights legislation in our nation’s history. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 marked the zenith of congressional action to protect civil rights — a moment when an organized civil rights movement, partisan political realignment, and public acts of oppressive violence combined to create the conditions ripe for bold action by lawmakers. Sadly, 60 years later, we may be close to witnessing a low point for congressional action on voting rights. This year, the Republican majority in Congress has prioritized a piece of legislation that, if passed, would become the first voter suppression law enacted by that body in recent memory, and perhaps ever.
That legislation is the SAVE Act, a bill that would disenfranchise millions of American citizens. If enacted, it would essentially require everyone to show a birth certificate or passport (or some other document demonstrating U.S. citizenship) in person in order to register to vote in federal elections. There are over 21 million American citizens that lack ready access to a birth certificate or passport and many more, such as women who changed their name when they got married, who don’t have one of these documents with their current name on it.
And every year, millions of Americans register or re-register by mail or online or through voter registration drives, methods that would no longer be an option if the SAVE Act passed and required people to show their papers to an election official in person. In fact, over 50 million people used one of these methods to register between 2018 and 2022, compared to less than 12 million who registered in person with election officials.
In 1965, the Voting Rights Act outlawed “tests and devices” that were used in some parts of the country to deny Black Americans and other people of color the opportunity to register to vote. Back then, common obstacles to registration included things like literacy tests and poll taxes. Congress saw states and localities putting these hurdles up in front of voters and acted to put an end to it.
Now, Congress might put up its own hurdles for the first time. Under the Elections Clause of the Constitution, states have responsibility for regulating the “times, places, and manner” of federal elections. The same clause gives Congress authority to step in to overrule the states or make its own regulations, and the 14th and 15th Amendments gave Congress additional authority to prevent discrimination in elections.
Historically Congress has used these powers only to expand access to elections and check states when they set up roadblocks, create inconsistencies, or engage in discrimination. The Voting Rights Act is one example, as are the other major elections laws passed by Congress over the years, like the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act of 1986, the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, and the Help America Vote Act of 2002.
At least in modern times, Congress has never used its authority to create needless obstacles to participation, and certainly not to disenfranchise millions of U.S. citizens. In fact, this might mark the first time Congress has ever done so, as the exclusionary voting rules of the Jim Crow era and before were generally codified in state law.
The Voting Rights Act passed because generations of Black Americans fought for decades and organized a nationwide movement that culminated in a series of protests and marches that were met by grotesque violence at the hands of law enforcement in the South. The injustice was so apparent and extreme that a bipartisan coalition in Congress felt compelled to act.
The lawmakers who voted for the Voting Rights Act 60 years ago have gone down in history for transforming our democracy. We celebrate their legacy this year. Some members of today’s Congress are at risk of going down in infamy. They should look to their predecessors for inspiration and rethink their current strategy.
