Cory Booker, Tim Scott spar over comparing voting restrictions to Jim Crow laws
Things got heated on the Senate floor Wednesday during debate on a voting rights bill, with Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) at odds over whether the strict voting restrictions being put in place by Republican-led state legislatures can compare to Jim Crow laws.
Jim Crow laws were first enacted in the late 1800s in order to segregate and disenfranchise Black people, especially in the South. Poll taxes and literacy tests, plus intimidation, were deployed to stop Black Americans from voting. The landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act outlawed discriminatory voting practices, which in turn increased voter registration and turnout.
Democrats have been trying to pass voting rights legislation that would, among other things, reinstate parts of the 1965 law, make Election Day a national holiday, and ensure access to early voting and mail-in ballots.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Scott, the Senate's only Black Republican, stated that when Democrats refer to these state laws as "Jim Crow 2.0," they are putting forward "a negative, false narrative of what is happening in America." The comparison is "offensive not just to me or Southern Americans, but offensive to millions of Americans who fought, bled, and died for the right to vote," he said.
Scott noted that he defeated the son of late GOP segregationist Sen. Strom Thurmond when he first won a House seat, and referring to himself and Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), said it's "hard to deny progress" when two of three sitting Black senators "come from the Southern states that people say are places where African American votes are being suppressed. Not to mention the fact that 2020 was a banner year for minority participation."
Democrats have argued that the higher minority participation is exactly why Republican-led state legislatures have enacted voting restrictions since the 2020 election. "Don't lecture me on Jim Crow," Booker said, speaking after Scott. "I know this is not 1965. That's what makes me so outraged — it's 2022 and they're blatantly removing more polling places from the counties where Blacks and Latinos are overrepresented. I'm not making that up. That is a fact."
Booker also said data shows that on average, Black voters have to wait in line at polling places twice as long as white voters. "In the United States today, it is more difficult for the average African American to vote than the average white American," he stated. "That is not rhetoric, that is fact."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
India elections start amid violence, hate speech accusations
Talking Points Narendra Modi seeks a third term while critics worry about the future of the country's democracy
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
'Biden is smart to keep the border-security pressure on'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Bird flu worries mount as virus found in milk, cows
Speed Read The FDA found traces of the virus in pasteurized grocery store milk
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Ukraine cheers House approval of military aid
Speed Read Following a lengthy struggle, the House has approved $95 billion in aid for Ukraine and Israel
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'Republicans want to silence Israel's opponents'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Poland, Germany nab alleged anti-Ukraine spies
Speed Read A man was arrested over a supposed Russian plot to kill Ukrainian President Zelenskyy
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Israel hits Iran with retaliatory airstrike
Speed Read The attack comes after Iran's drone and missile barrage last weekend
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Peter Murrell: Sturgeon's husband charged over SNP 'embezzlement' claims
Speed Read SNP expresses 'shock' as former chief executive rearrested in long-running investigation into claims of mishandled campaign funds
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Mark Menzies: Tories investigate MP after 'bad people' cash claims
Speed Read Fylde MP will sit as an independent while party looks into allegations he misused campaign funds on medical expenses and blackmail pay-out
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Why Johnson won't just pass Ukraine aid
Speed Read The House Speaker could have sent $60 billion in military aid to Ukraine — but it would have split his caucus
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Sudan on brink of collapse after a year of war
Speed Read 18 million people face famine as the country continues its bloody downward spiral
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published