DENVER — Colorado lawmakers will consider passing a state version of the federal Voting Rights Act to protect voting access at the state and local levels.
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The landmark legislation outlawed racial discrimination in voting.
With Republicans taking control of Congress and the White House — and with a 6-3 conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court — a group of Democratic lawmakers in Colorado believe it’s time to strengthen voter protections in the state.
State Rep. Jennifer Bacon, D-Denver, the assistant House majority leader, has introduced the Colorado Voting Rights Act, along with State Rep. Junie Joseph, D-Boulder, and State Sen. Julie Gonzales, D-Denver.
“This bill is our commitment to Coloradans,” said Bacon. “It is our commitment to the sanctity of voting and is our commitment to accountability. All people should be able to engage freely without worrying that they'd either be turned away or that their vote would be suppressed, or a community's vote would be diluted.”
Bacon said the bill will enshrine protections of the federal Voting Right Act into Colorado law and build upon those protections to ensure access to voting at the state and local levels.
“What we're also going to do in this bill is expand, as well, the protections for folks who would like to be voters that they can't be discriminated against,” said Bacon.
The bill adds protections for LGBTQ+ Coloradans, ensuring they can’t be denied access to vote because of their “actual or perceived gender identity, gender expression or sexual orientation.”
Joseph said the bill would also protect voting access for Native Americans.
“I talked to a tribal council member, and one of the comments he made to me is that they get turned away if they come to vote with their tribal license or their tribal IDs,” said Joseph.
More than 30 community organizations have announced their support of the bill.
“We still have some persistent issues with equity and access at the local level,” said Aly Belknap, the executive director of Common Cause Colorado, which has been working to expand voting access since 1971.
Belknap worries the federal law won’t survive much longer and said additional protections need to be put in place in Colorado.
“We are afraid that the federal Voting Rights Act could be completely stripped away,” said Belknap. “We know that voting rights are under attack federally and in Colorado. We're not immune.”
In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a key provision of the Voting Rights Act that required certain jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination to get permission from the federal government before changing voting procedures.
“Our country has changed,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the Supreme Court’s majority opinion. “While any racial discrimination in voting is too much, Congress must ensure that the legislation it passes to remedy that problem speaks to current conditions.”
As of Thursday afternoon, no groups had filed official opposition to the Colorado Voting Rights Act, though the sponsors expect there will be groups and lawmakers against it.
“I think at worst we may hear from people who want to be exclusive of who should be a part of an American process,” said Bacon.
The National Conference of State Legislatures said eight states have approved their own versions of the Voting Rights Act.
The proposal in Colorado will be introduced in the Senate in the State, Veterans and Military Affairs committee. A hearing date has not been set.
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