Tennessee attorney general joins opposition to John Lewis Voting Rights Act

Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery has joined 22 of his counterparts in urging Congress not to allow a pending voting rights bill to receive final approval and implementation.

Slatery and other attorneys general in Republican-leaning states this week wrote to congressional leadership that the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would take away states' authority and "essentially federalize" their election systems.

They argue that the legislation is at odds with a 2013 U.S. Supreme Court decision determining states do not need to receive pre-approval from the federal government to impose new election rules and regulations.

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The Democratic-sponsored John Lewis Act, which passed the House and is less expansive than an earlier voting rights bill introduced this year, would require states to receive federal preclearance to implement voter ID requirements and other election regulations.

"If these provisions are enacted, rest assured that the undersigned will aggressively defend our citizens’ rights to participate in free and fair elections without unconstitutional federal intrusion," the letter states.

Slatery, who in the last year has signed on to several similar efforts by Republican attorneys general to oppose Democratic initiatives, said in a statement that the existing Voting Rights Act "is a very good law and already provides a remedy when discrimination occurs," decrying the effort to give "federal government control of our state elections.”

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita initiated the letter. In addition to Tennessee, attorneys general in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and West Virginia also signed.

Reach Natalie Allison at nallison@tennessean.com. Follow her on Twitter at @natalie_allison.

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