Attorney General Steps Up Justice Department Efforts to Protect Voting Rights

In a speech in Washington, Attorney General Merrick Garland announces a series of steps the Justice Department will take as it steps up its efforts to protect voting rights across the country, including doubling enforcement staff at the Civil Rights Division, reviewing new election laws and issuing new guidance explaining civil and criminal statutes that apply to post-election audits, early voting and voting by mail, and redistricting. The attorney general also criticizes the Supreme Court's Shelby County decision, saying, "It eliminated critical tools for protecting voting rights," and he calls on Congress to pass legislation that "would provide the department with the tools it needs." close