Minority voting rights are being denied in some parts of the US: UN Specialist | Election Issues

A UN special reporter says the provocation of voting in Texas violates the rights of minority groups, leading to ‘breaking the law’.

A United Nations human rights expert has criticized ways in some parts of the United States, including Texas, that could undermine democracy by barring millions of people from minority groups who appear to have the right to vote.

Speaking on the last day of a two-week visit to the US, Fernand de Varennes said Monday that Texas law has “disrupted” and curtailed minority voting rights. in favor of whites.

“It is unfortunate that it is clearly an act of mass violence where the right to vote is being denied in many places, in many parts of the country,” de Varennes, a UN special journalist on minor issues, said. meeting.

De Varennes called for a “New Deal” to change the rules. There was nothing that the US did in its initial protests, which a UN expert said he shared with US Department of State officials earlier in the day.

His comments came after the US was first included a list of “backwards” democracies., among others due to a number of state laws passed in recent months that make it difficult for some voters to cast their ballots.

“Research has shown that in some countries voter registration and enforcement laws, which have recently been approved or are currently being discussed, can be detrimental to young people in negative ways,” states a report by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance.PDF).

US Department of Justice prosecuted Texas earlier this month “on alternatives to voting” contained in the controversial law known as SB1, which the department said violated federal laws and human rights.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott he signs SB1 became law in September, arguing that a Republican-supported approach could help curb voter fraud. But human rights groups and observers have said the law seeks to make it difficult for a minority of Democrats to cast their ballots.

Among other things, SB1 banned 24-hour voting, added new voter registration notices, restrictions that could help voters in need of language assistance or disability, as well as empowering voter turnout.

Texas was one of more than a dozen US states to change votes since the 2020 presidential election, which was sponsored by former President Donald Trump. false claims that votes were tarnished by widespread fraud.

The Brennan Center for Justice, a New York University research institute that registers voting rights in the US, said nearly 19 countries had enacted 33 laws that make it difficult for Americans to vote between January 1 and September 27 this year.

The Texas SB1 law “greatly burdens Latino, Black, and Asian voters and makes it difficult for those with language barriers or access to voting services”, he said center, which is he protested law in a US court.

“In an area where it was already difficult to vote, [SB1] it exacerbates the obstacles that Texas voters face, “it said.

This month, the cases were again was sent to Texas on a re-ban on Congress maps that critics say are “undermining the constituency’s voting power” while giving Western voters a political influence that exceeds their share of public office.

The government was given two additional seats in the US House of Representatives this year due to overcrowding.

“Texas added two million Latinos to the population in the 2020 Census, yet Republicans have still found a way to tackle the problem and avoid adding regions that represent growth,” said Maria Teresa Kumar, CEO of Voto Latino, the opposition group. map, he said in his remarks at the end of last month.

“Efforts by the Texas GOP to suppress Latino voices by reducing their voting power, holding and distributing them in disruptive states that limit their representation, make it difficult to select the candidates they want,” Kumar said.