Tennessee joins fight against John Lewis Voting Rights Act

ennessee Attorney General Herb Slatery is formally opposing passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, signing on to a letter with Republican AGs saying it would allow the feds to “usurp” states’ authority over elections.

“If these provisions are enacted, rest assured that the undersigned will aggressively defend our citizens’ rights to participate in free and fair elections without unconstitutional federal intrusion,” says the letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other House leaders.

The letter contends the act “seeks to overturn common sense election integrity reforms” approved by the U.S. Supreme Court and supported by 80% of Americans. Those include voter identification laws.

Slatery and the other AGs also say the act “seeks to flip” a constitutional mandate for state control of elections “on its head, turning the Department of Justice into a federal ‘election czar,’” giving it power the challenge news or existing election laws based on the “whims of the party in power.”Democratic state Rep. John Ray Clemmons of Nashville tweeted that the “GOP’s anti-#VotingRights efforts continue. In formally opposing #JohnLewisVotingRightsAct, the @TNattgen referred to it as “a reckless piece of legislation” and “a misguided, clumsy, and heavy-handed effort to circumvent … the will of the people.” Clemmons wrapped up his tweet with a faux-thoughtful emoji.

Read more: https://tennesseelookout.com/2021/09/17/stockard-on-the-stump-tennessee-joins-fight-against-john-lewis-voting-rights-act/