We Did it: Where (and what) is the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act? — Redistricting chaos pushes some Dem House members to run statewide

Mar 29, 2021

Editor's Note: Weekly Score is a weekly version of POLITICO Pro's daily Campaigns policy newsletter, Morning Score. POLITICO Pro is a policy intelligence platform that combines the news you need with tools you can use to take action on the day's biggest stories. Act on the news with POLITICO Pro.

Quick Fix

— Democrats often promote two pieces of election legislation that need to be passed. But what is the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act — and where is it in Congress?

— With House maps not set to be drawn until the end of the year, some Democratic members are instead eying a run for a statewide position instead.

— Swing Left, one of the liberal groups working on downballot races, is laying out its targets as Democrats look to defend their trifecta in Virginia.

Good Monday morning. Email me at zmontellaro@politico.com, and follow me on Twitter at @ZachMontellaro.

Email the rest of the POLITICO Campaigns team at sshepard@politico.com, jarkin@politico.com and amutnick@politico.com. Follow them on Twitter: @POLITICO_Steve, @JamesArkin and @allymutnick.

Days until the LA-02 special election runoff: 26

Days until the TX-06 special election: 33

Days until the NM-01 special election: 64

Days until the New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial elections and OH-11 special election: 218

Days until the 2022 midterm elections: 589

Days until the 2024 election: 1,317

JOIN THE CONVERSATION, SUBSCRIBE TO "THE RECAST" Power dynamics are shifting in Washington, and more people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that all politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. "The Recast" is a new twice-weekly newsletter that breaks down how race and identity are recasting politics, policy and power in America. Get fresh insights, scoops and dispatches on this crucial intersection from across the country and hear from new voices that challenge business as usual. Don't miss out on our latest newsletter, SUBSCRIBE NOW. Thank you to our sponsor, Intel.

TopLine

John Lewis

The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act, named after the late civil rights icon, is moving on a slower trajectory than Democrats' H.R. 1. | Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo

LANDMARK LEGISLATION? — National Democrats have talked about passing voting rights legislation over and over again, and two pieces of legislation are often mentioned in the same breath: The For the People Act — otherwise known as H.R. 1 (117) or S. 1 (117) — and the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act, sometimes referred to as H.R. 4. And while H.R. 1 has rocketed through the House and is set for a major showdown in the Senate, H.R. 4 is languishing. So what exactly does the bill propose to do — and when might there be votes on it?

The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act originally passed the House during the 116th Congress, and like a lot of legislation in a divided Washington, went to die in the other chamber. The bill — then called the Voting Rights Advancement Act (116) , before it was renamed for the late civil rights icon and congressman following his death — looks to restore the preclearance formula to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The formula, sparsely updated since the bill passed, dictated who was covered by Section 5, which requires certain jurisdictions to get preapproval from either the Department of Justice or the U.S. District Court for D.C. before making changes to elections. That formula was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2013 in the Shelby County v. Holder decision, which ruled that the old formula needed to be updated.

Lawmakers "reenacted a formula based on 40-year-old facts, having no logical relationship to the present day," Chief Justice John Roberts wrote at the time . Despite "thousands of pages of evidence" Congress accumulated in 2006, when the VRA was last reauthorized for 25 years, "we cannot pretend that we are reviewing an updated statute or try our hand at updating the statute ourselves, based on the new record compiled by Congress." The high court notably did not strike down the preclearance requirement entirely, but without a formula to decide which jurisdictions are covered by it it is left entirely unenforceable. Enter the VRAA: It is an attempt by Congress to restore the formula.

And while H.R. 1 and H.R. 4 are often mentioned together by Democrats, they're on very different paths. H.R. 1 is already in the hands of the Senate, but H.R. 4 has not been formally re-introduced in the House this Congress. That is intentional, the bill's lead sponsor in the House said recently. "We look forward to building that evidentiary record," Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) said at a recent press briefing from the Southern Poverty Law Center, saying the House was planning a number of hearings to build a case to defend the bill from inevitable court challenges (should it actually become law).

Sewell said hearings from the Judiciary Committee and the House Administration Subcommittee on Elections would start in April (there's a hearing entitled "Voting In America: Ensuring Free And Fair Access To The Ballot" in the subcommittee on Thursday), and could last through May and June. "I think that's the earliest that I would be introducing it," she said. "I suspect that the bill won't be introduced or voted on until September, because we have an August recess as well."

You may be shocked to learn this, but the filibuster looms for the VRAA as well. It has not earned much Republican support — Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) was the lone Republican to vote for it in the House in 2019, while Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) was the lone GOP senator to sponsor it in the Senate (it did not get a vote). Sewell was one of the Black lawmakers and voting rights advocates highlighted in my and Eugene Daniels' story last week on the push to end the filibuster, saying at the SPLC event that Democrats need to be "prepared to maybe do away with the filibuster" to pass the H.R. 4 in the Senate.

Down the Ballot

Tim Ryan speaks at an event.

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) is one of the half-dozen House Democrats considering a run for higher office. | Robert F. Bukaty/AP Photo

SOMETHING ELSE IN MIND? — The extreme delay in redistricting data from the Census Bureau (which you may have read about a couple times in Score) is pushing some Democratic House members to more deeply consider statewide runs. Their political futures are uncertain because they may not know the districts they could run in until next year, combined with the prospect that even if they do win they could end up in the chamber minority. POLITICO's Sarah Ferris, Ally Mutnick and James Arkin: "So far, a half-dozen Democrats who could face some of the toughest redistricting prospects have floated bids for Senate or governor — all in states where Republicans have the ability to doom their House careers with new maps next year." (And click through for some staffing news for both Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan and Pennsylvania Rep. Conor Lamb.)

FIRST IN SCORE — OLD DOMINION — Swing Left, which is part of the constellation of Democratic groups created in the Trump era, is announcing its initial targets in Virginia for the 2021 elections. Democrats in the state are looking to defend their governing trifecta after flipping both state legislative chambers in 2019. To that effect, Swing Left announced that it would play in six House of Delegate races (HD-27, HD-28, HD-66, HD-83, HD-84, HD-85) that are clustered in the Virginia Beach and Richmond areas, split between Democratic and Republican-held districts. The group also announced it would target the governor's race, which is the first time it'll wade into a gubernatorial contest.

Considering the six-month delay for redistricting data, the operating assumption for everybody in the state is that these maps will be conducted using the same lines as the 2019 election. But some in the state have raised the specter of having to have three straight years of legislative elections, should a court order that an election be held in 2022 on new maps, and then 2023 as normally scheduled. (Here's a good story on that from earlier this month from WRIC's Dean Mirshahi ). That could be a costly proposition for everyone involved. "Swing Left is committed to protecting the progress we've made, doubling down on the work left to be done, and ensuring the Commonwealth stays under Democratic leadership in 2021 and beyond," Swing Left executive director Tori Taylor said in a statement.

— Former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe picked up the endorsement of Rep. Elaine Luria in the primary. She's the first Democratic member of the state delegation to weigh in.

— The Republican Party of Virginia also announced the candidates who qualified for the ballot for its convention. In the gubernatorial field, there were no surprises: State Sen. Amanda Chase, former state House Speaker Kirk Cox, Sergio de la Peña, Peter Doran, Octavia Johnson, Pete Snyder and Glenn Youngkin.

EMPIRE STATE — Dozens of officials in New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration have been subpoenaed by the state attorney general's office for the investigation into sexual harassment allegations against the Democrat, The Wall Street Journal's Jimmy Vielkind, Khadeeja Safdar and Deanna Paul reported. That includes Melissa DeRosa, his top aide.

JUST SPECIAL — Republicans picked their nominee for the special election in NM-01, the blue-tinted seat vacant after Interior Secretary Deb Haaland's confirmation: state Sen. Mark Moores, a former University of New Mexico football player, the Albuquerque Journal's Ryan Boetel reported. Democrats are slated to pick their candidate later this week.

FIRST IN SCORE — MESSAGING MATTERS — House Majority Forward, the Democratic nonprofit focused on the House, is launching a new digital campaign boosting battleground Democrats over their vote for the coronavirus relief package. It is a five-figure ad campaign across 31 districts. "During the crisis, we need our representatives to put us first. And good news: Ours voted to help get everyone vaccinated, sent $1,400 checks to working Americans and reopen schools safely," the ad's narrator says.

— The National Republican Senatorial Committee released new messaging opposing Democrats' election legislation in Congress, James writes in. Florida Sen. Rick Scott, the NRSC chairman who also voted against certifying election results, released a video calling H.R. 1 a "dishonest, Democrat power grab," while highlighting recent polling from the committee message-testing the bill. Scott also pushed back against Democrats who have said the new wave of Republican-sponsored voting legislation across the country is racially motivated and adversely impacting minorities, saying "wanting zero fraud is not racist."

— FIRST IN SCORE — The liberal group Indivisible is running a radio ad in West Virginia, urging Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) to support statehood for the District of Columbia. "Our neighbors in the District of Columbia are taxpaying Americans who take pride in their work and their home state, just like West Virginians. Except their home state isn't a state at all. The same out-of-touch elites who forget about West Virginia have forgotten about D.C.," the ad's narrator says, who adds that Manchin could be a "hero" for supporting it.

THE HOUSE MAP — After a surprising surge by former President Donald Trump and other Republicans in the Rio Grande Valley in 2020, the region could become the "epicenter of the state's political universe" in 2022, The Texas Tribune's Abby Livingston and Patrick Svitek wrote. The Tribune: "Before the general election, Democrats will also have to navigate a primary for [retiring Democratic Rep. Filemón Vela 's] open seat — as well as potentially another serious primary challenge to Rep. Henry Cuellar. And the stakes could not be higher nationally: Republicans only need to capture about eight seats to win back the House. Control over that chamber could depend in part on how South Texans vote in 2022."

— If you've not been following the election challenge in IA-02, where Democrat Rita Hart is challenging freshman GOP Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks' narrow victory, New York Magazine's Ben Jacobs has a story with a good quick-and-dirty rundown. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said at a press conference last week that a decision on if the challenge could go forward could be made as soon as today.

THE MAP LINES — Michigan's redistricting commission will ask the state Supreme Court to push back the deadline by which it has to draw new district lines from Nov. 1 to Jan. 25, 2022, and to move the filing deadline for an August primary from April 19 to May 14, The Detroit News' Beth LeBlanc reported.

REPUBLICAN TENSION — Can a Republican who loudly rejected the lie that the last election was stolen have a chance of winning his next one? Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is about to find out, facing down a Trump-backed primary challenger and hostilities from other Republicans in the state, POLITICO's David Siders and I wrote. Local GOP officials and operatives say it isn't looking good for the otherwise conventional Republican, but that's against an AJC poll that recently found him as the most popular Republican in the state.

— The Maine Republican Party overwhelmingly voted to reject a censure of Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), the Bangor Daily News' Michael Shepherd reported, heading in the opposite direction of many state parties that have opted to punish Republicans who either voted to impeach or convict Trump during his second trial.

— Former House Speaker John Boehner is set to headline a Zoom fundraiser for Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R-Ohio), who is being primaried by the Trump-endorsed Max Miller, POLITICO's Alex Isenstadt wrote in to Playbook.

THE PROCESS — Confused about what is, and is not, in Georgia's recent omnibus elections bill that Republicans passed last week? Georgia Public Broadcasting's Stephen Fowler has the definitive breakdown going through all the important provisions. And a brewing point of tension is how the business world will respond to the law, especially with pressure from activists. In that vein: Tony Clark, the director of the MLB Players Association, said that players "are very much aware" of the law in an interview with The Boston Globe's Michael Silverman, and said the union "would look forward" to having a conversation with the league about potentially moving the All-Star Game scheduled for July out of Atlanta.

JUMPING IN — Democrat Rett Newton, the mayor of Beaufort, N.C., told the Carteret County News-Times Jackie Starkey he would run for the state's open Senate seat and formally launch his campaign on April 6.

NOTABLE FLOATABLES — Democrat Alan Grayson, the bomb-throwing former congressman, filed to run for both the Senate in 2022 against GOP Sen. Marco Rubio (POLITICO's Marc Caputo previously reported he was testing the waters) and in FL-28, a yet-to-be-created district that will take shape in redistricting.

STAFFING UP — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, is prepping for his 2022 reelection battle with a big hire. Alex reported that Phil Cox, the former executive director of the RGA, has joined the reelect as a senior-level adviser.

THE LATEST FROM INSIDE THE WEST WING : A lot happened in the first two months of the Biden presidency. From a growing crisis at the border to increased mass shootings across the country while navigating the pandemic and ongoing economic challenges. Add Transition Playbook to your daily reads to find out what actions are on the table and the internal state of play inside the West Wing and across the administration. Track the people, policies and emerging power centers of the Biden administration. Don't miss out. Subscribe today.

Presidential Big Board

Mike Pompeo speaks at an event.

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's visit to Iowa is firing a starting gun for 2024 Republican hopefuls. | Charlie Neibergall/AP Photo

2024 ALREADY? — Consider the starting gun for the 2024 Republican presidential primary already fired. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was in Iowa this weekend, the Des Moines Register's Brianne Pfannenstiel wrote. (Pompeo is the first of many Republicans making their way to the state over the next couple months.) "These individuals are coming in to party build. They're coming in to help other Republicans. And, you know, let's face it, they're coming in to, I wouldn't say test the waters, but to introduce themselves to Iowans," state party chair Jeff Kaufmann told the DMR.

LEADING THE PARTY — Michigan state GOP chair Ron Weiser issued an apology after calling the state's three highest-ranking female elected Democrats — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, state Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson — "witches" who should be "ready for the burning at the stake," and referencing "assassination" about ousting Republican congressmen who voted to impeach Trump, the Detroit Free Press' Dave Boucher and David Jesse. When asked what Republicans could do about Reps. Peter Meijer and Fred Upton at a political event, Weiser responded: "Other than assassination, I have no other way other than voting them out, OK?," telling people to support their opponents. The apology comes as what the Freep describes as Weiser scrambling "behind the scenes this weekend to tamp down growing outrage."

CODA — QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Twenty years ago in Montana, meth was homemade. It was homegrown. And you had purity levels less than 30 percent. Today the meth that is getting into Montana is Mexican cartel. It has purity north of 95 percent. " — Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), talking about the danger of drugs on the Mexican-U.S. border.

Follow us on Twitter