In this interview with NPR’s Tonya Mosley, Type Media Center fellow Ari Berman discusses attempts to dismantle the Voting Rights Act, both in recent years and over the decades since it was initially passed.
Highlights
- Restrictions of the Eighth Circuit: In this interview, Ari Berman discusses recent rulings within the Eighth Circuit which prohibit private citizens and private groups from filing lawsuits to enforce Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, instead mandating that only the Department of Justice can bring these cases. Section 2 of the VRA prohibits voting changes and procedures that lead to the denial or dilution of voting rights for minority voters.
- Loss of Bipartisan Support: Berman notes the contrast between Congress’s support of the Voting Rights Act in the past versus in present-day, highlighting the fact that bipartisan majorities supported the VRA in the past, while there wasn’t a single House Republican who voted to reauthorize it in the last couple of years.
- A Three-Pronged Threat to Democracy: When asked about his fears going into an election year, Berman notes that there is a “three-pronged threat of voter suppression, gerrymandering and election subversion”, escalating threats to democracy.
- Hope from the People: Berman also touches upon the hope he still holds, encouraged by the pro-democracy movement emerging in the U.S. for the first time since the initial Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.
Type Media Center’s Note
This interview with our fellow Ari Berman reflects Type Media Center’s dedication to nurturing independent journalism that not only informs but strives for societal change.