Politics
Cantor Loss Clouds Prospects for New Voting Rights Bill
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Va. speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, June 11, 2014, after a House Republican caucus meeting. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
(The Washington Post) – The recent primary loss by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor set off a barrage of political analysis that concluded that any large-scale overhaul of the country’s immigration laws was dead.
But the ouster of Cantor (R-Va.) also upended Democratic hopes for a bill intended to counter a Supreme Court decision last year that halted several major provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
The Shelby v. Holder decision stalled the requirement that nine states — each with histories of racially discriminatory actions to keep minorities from voting — must submit any changes to voting procedures to the Justice Department before they can be implemented.
The court ruled the “pre-clearance provision” unconstitutional, which meant Congress must pass new legislation before it can be enforced again.
Efforts to craft a measure that would pass the House hinged on Cantor’s tacit support.
