In a move raising alarms among conservatives, the Democrat Party’s platform proposes giving the Department of Justice broad new powers to oversee state election laws. The platform, released before the Democratic National Convention, advocates for expanding DOJ staff to challenge state laws under the guise of protecting voting rights.
The push centers around the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act, a bill that would override state election rules in the name of preventing discrimination. Critics see it as a blatant power grab, designed to reverse the Supreme Court’s Shelby County v. Holder decision, which ended outdated federal preclearance requirements. The proposed legislation would give the DOJ authority to block state laws based on mere accusations of voter suppression.
Georgia has been a major flashpoint in this debate, with its voter ID law coming under constant attack from Democrats. President Biden has repeatedly slammed the law as “Jim Crow 2.0,” despite 81% of Americans supporting voter ID requirements, according to Pew Research. Legal challenges backed by the DOJ and leftist groups like the ACLU have already been filed to overturn Georgia’s election integrity measures.
The Democrat platform’s focus on expanding federal control flies in the face of the Constitution’s clear delegation of election authority to the states. Many conservatives view this push as an attempt to consolidate power and impose a one-size-fits-all approach to election law. As Democrats continue to target state election reforms, the clash over federal versus state control is only set to grow more intense.
