It is a positive sign that the bill was written by a bipartisan group of lawmakers—Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., who helped write it along with Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.
The legislators said they introduced the bill to coincide with Monday’s holiday commemorating Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday.
The bill is expected to have a good chance of passage in the Democratic-controlled Senate, where several Republicans have expressed support for it, said Leahy. Its path in the Republican-controlled House, where it does not have a Republican co-sponsor, is less certain.
The bill is far from perfect and should be even stronger, but it is a major step towards restoring some of the protections under the Voting Rights Act.
(Reprinted from the Philadelphia Tribune)
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