Vice President Harris leads the White House fight to protect voting rights as civil rights groups pressure Congress to pass a pair of election bills.
Harris has spoken to local officials, civil rights advocates and lawmakers on Capitol Hill and across the country in her quest to counteract restrictive voting bills, and aides say she'll continue to highlight the issue on future trips.
Adding the new role to Harris' portfolio shows how much confidence Biden has in her, said Hancock Alfaro. The "inside-out strategy," as a senior administration official described it, is part of a recognition that major civil rights legislation was borne out of mounting pressure from activists. The Senate is expected to take an initial vote on the legislation next week, but it's unclear if Democrats will concede to Manchin's proposed changes.
Democrats are also pushing for passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would, among other things, restore a key provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that required states with a history of discrimination to get federal clearance before making election changes. Senate Republican leaders have said they will oppose it.
Rep. G.K. Butterfield, a Democrat from North Carolina, said with more states adopting discriminatory election laws there’s an urgency to pass federal voting rights bills. He and other members of the Congressional Black Caucus aim to re-introduce the John Lewis bill by the end of July and hope the Senate will act on HR1 by the August recess.
Jon Greenbaum, chief counsel for Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said with Harris’ experience in the Senate and her relationship with former colleagues she could be an asset for getting legislation passed. "Everybody has their own style of doing things so I won't tell them how to do it," he said. "I just know what I want the result to be.''
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