New State Voting Laws Roll Back Civil Rights Clock

At a Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Human Rights hearing last week, senators and civil and human rights organizations expressed concern over what one witness called an assault on voting rights comparable to the Jim Crow era. The hearing focused on the recent wave of state legislation that will restrict voters’ access to the polls, disenfranchising millions of voters.  The new voting laws include, but are not limited to, requiring voters to show government-issued IDs, shortening the early voting period, enforcing stricter fines and penalties on voter registration groups, and restricting poll workers from helping voters.