ACLU of Delaware and LDF Help Secure Final Passage of Delaware Voting Rights Act

Dover, DE — Today, with a bipartisan vote, the Delaware Senate passed the Delaware John Lewis Voting Rights Act (DEVRA), passing the bill fully through the Delaware General Assembly, enshrining crucial voter protections and expanding safeguards against discrimination in voting. The bill, HB 444, now heads to Governor Matt Meyer for his signature.

This historic bill passage comes on the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, a calamitous redistricting case that dismantled crucial federal protections against racial discrimination in the federal Voting Rights Act. Delaware is the first state to pass a State Voting Rights Act – which restores and strengthens many of those former federal protections – after the ruling.

“Every threat to Black political power needs to be met with a strong and swift response,” said Todd A. Cox, Associate Director-Counsel of the Legal Defense Fund. “The DEVRA will serve as a reinforced shield for Black Delawareans to protect them from malicious efforts to relegate Black voters back to the days of second-class citizenship. This bipartisan bill is built to respond directly to many of those efforts, and we are so glad that the Delaware General Assembly met the moment to pass this bill in just one month.”

“The bipartisan group of Delaware legislators that saw the DEVRA over the finish line was the first group to protect their constituents after the disastrous Callais ruling,” said Christina Das, Policy Counsel at the Legal Defense Fund. “This was a momentous effort by bill sponsors, advocates, and Delawareans from across the state who organized to enshrine these crucial voter protections into law. In the wake of Supreme Court decisions that continue to open the door for racial discrimination in voting, this is a resounding response from Delaware that demonstrates the state's commitment to safeguarding Black voting rights.”

“The Delaware John Lewis Voting Rights Act is a crucial safeguard for Black voters and other voters of color who have faced extensive discrimination in the past,” said Andrew Bernstein, Civic Engagement Counsel at the ACLU of Delaware. “Securing these protections against racial vote dilution is particularly impactful in Delaware, as we have the eighth largest percentage of Black residents in the nation. The passage of the Delaware John Lewis Voting Rights Act brings Delaware closer than ever to actualizing the free, fair, and representative democracy we all strive for and deserve."

“The Delaware John Lewis Voting Rights Act is about protecting the progress generations before us fought so hard to achieve and ensuring that every eligible Delaware voter continues to have a fair and equal opportunity to make their voice heard,” said Representative Larry Lambert, lead House sponsor of HB 444. “I am incredibly proud that Delaware has become the first state in the nation to pass a State Voting Rights Act following the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Louisiana v. Callais, which weakened federal voting rights protections. It has been an honor to sponsor this legislation and to continue the work of civil rights leaders like Congressman John Lewis.”

“Here in Delaware, we know that a fair democracy depends on equal representation and inclusion in our voting process so that those in elected office are truly representative of the people they serve. At a time when federal voting rights protections are being eroded in our country, Delaware is once again leading as the First State – becoming the first in the nation to enshrine these protections into state law following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Callais ruling,” said Senator Marie Pinkney, lead Senate sponsor of HB 444. “The Delaware John Lewis Voting Rights Act does just that – it protects Delaware voters from voter suppression and dilution, while enshrining crucial protections that uphold our shared commitment to equal representation and opportunity.”

When the federal VRA was enacted in 1965, it was supposed to protect Black voters from the kinds of discriminatory practices that are happening right now to decrease Black political power at the ballot box. But because of a coordinated campaign to dismantle the VRA through the Supreme Court, the VRA is no more than a shredded shield. The DEVRA will fill many of the gaps where current federal protections fall short with provisions that prohibit voter suppression; prohibit vote dilution; prohibit voter intimidation, deception, and obstruction; ensure judges interpret laws in favor of voters; and empower voters to fight discrimination in court.

Learn more about the Delaware Voting Rights Act Campaign:
https://www.naacpldf.org/case-issue/delaware-voting-rights-act/
https://www.aclu-de.org/campaigns-initiatives/vra/

Founded in 1940, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) is the nation’s first civil rights legal organization. LDF has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957, though it was founded under the leadership of Thurgood Marshall while he was at the NAACP. LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute (TMI) is a division of LDF that undertakes innovative research and houses LDF’s archive. In all media attributions, please refer to us as the Legal Defense Fund or LDF (do not include NAACP) and refer to the Institute as LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute or TMI.