Georgia state Rep. Calvin Smyre, a Columbus Democrat, attended a meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House Monday to discuss the recent Supreme Court ruling on the Voting Rights Act.
The Obama administration announced last week that it will aggressively fight the Supreme Court’s Shelby County vs. Holder ruling, which strikes down key provisions of the Voting Rights Act.
Smyre was one of four Southern state legislators who attended the 45-minute meeting with Obama, Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Labor Tom Perez.
“I was delighted to be invited,” Smyre said. “In the meeting, the president reiterated his support for the Voting Rights Act.”
The attorney general talked about how the Department of Justice would still be active in elections “when discriminatory practices present themselves,” Smyre said.
Reed noted the role Atlanta played in the Civil Rights Movement.
“I believe today’s conversation and the actions of the Obama Administration to continue to protect voting rights are vital to the health of our democracy,” Reed said in a prepared statement. “The Supreme Court decision in Shelby County vs. Holder was stunningly disappointing and opened the door for some lawmakers to begin efforts to disenfranchise voters. Recent actions in Texas and North Carolina to erect barriers to voting shows exactly why the United States Congress has enacted and repeatedly reauthorized the Voting Rights Act since 1965 by wide bipartisan majorities. I support the efforts of President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder to ensure that the vote of every American is counted regardless of race or ethnicity.”
via Smyre meets with Obama on Voting Rights Act | News | Columbus Ledger Enquirer.
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