Delaware joined New Jersey as the first of two states to pass John Lewis Voting Rights legislation since the Supreme Court’s Callais v. Louisiana decision in April. They're among 9 other states that previously enacted similar laws.
The Supreme Court ruling makes it harder to challenge racially discriminatory or diluted electoral maps. Voting rights advocates call the decision a blow to protections passed in the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
Lawmakers, activists, and Wilmington residents joined Gov. Matt Meyer Thursday for a ceremonial signing of Delaware's John Lewis Voting Rights bill at Shiloh Baptist Church in Wilmington, the state's first African American Baptist church.
State Senator Marie Pinkney (D-Bear/New Castle) co-sponsored the bill, passed as HB 444, which offers states level protections against discriminatory voting practices. At its signing, she recalled her election to office in 2020 in a competitive race against a long time incumbent.
"While we have so much going on nationally and have so much at stake there, the reason HB 444 is so important to me is because 228 votes is the difference for me standing here in front of you today," she sad.
HB 444 prohibits election practices that suppress, dilute, or discriminate against voters, regardless of intent. And it provides legal avenues to challenge potential discriminatory practices.
Its House sponsor, State Rep. Larry Lambert (D-Claymont), said the law does not expand voting rights to people who aren’t already eligible.
"This bill prohibits voter suppression, voter discrimination," he said. "It provides additional civil protections that out DOJ can use in cases where people to attempt intimidation and other things.”
Under the legislation, the Delaware Attorney General has a clear direction to challenge practices that dilute or suppress voters in Delaware.
The legislation is named for the late Georgia Congressman, John Lewis, who served seventeen terms – and was nicknamed “the conscience of Congress.” He advocated nonviolence and led civil rights protests during the 1960s to end racial segregation and secure voting rights for millions of disenfranchised African Americans.
The bill passed in Delaware's House chamber largely along party lines. It passed with bipartisan support in the State senate.
