On the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, under the leadership of Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, reaffirmed its commitment to enforcing federal voting laws and protecting ballot access for all Americans.
In a video posted Wednesday on X, Dhillon stated the DOJ is “not just marking history” but actively “enforcing the law.” The post highlighted several current initiatives, including:
- Investigating violations of federal voting laws.
- Ensuring all 50 states maintain accurate voter rolls.
- Challenging efforts to suppress or dilute the vote.
- Suing jurisdictions where ineligible voters remain on the rolls.
- Reviewing redistricting plans for evidence of racial gerrymandering.
“Our constitutional duty is to protect the right to vote for all Americans,” Dhillon said. “Today, under the leadership of President Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi, this Civil Rights Division is continuing to protect equal and transparent ballot access with vigilance and resolve.”
Dhillon noted that the Voting Rights Act of 1965, signed into law on August 6, removed barriers to voting, outlawed poll taxes and literacy tests, and “gave the federal government the tools to stop discriminatory barriers at the ballot box.”
Specific actions mentioned in the video include suing jurisdictions such as North Carolina for failing to properly verify voter eligibility before registration and notifying Texas of grave concerns about congressional districts allegedly drawn with racial motivations.
“Our job is to make it easier to vote and harder to cheat,” Dhillon stated. “On this anniversary, we honor the Voting Rights Act not just by remembering it, but by enforcing it for all Americans.”
The announcement comes amid ongoing national disputes over redistricting and election law enforcement. In recent weeks, Democrats and Republicans have clashed over proposed district maps in several states. In Texas, Democrats fled the state to block a GOP-backed map that could shift up to five congressional seats toward Republicans, prompting Republican officials to issue arrest warrants for the absent lawmakers.
Governor Kathy Hochul (D-NY) recently described Texas’s proposed redistricting as a “legal insurrection,” signaling potential similar moves in her own state. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) celebrated the Texas Democrats’ walkout, commending their “courage, conviction, and character.”
Defending Democrat-led redistricting in states like Illinois, Oregon, and New Mexico, Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) argued on NPR’s Morning Edition that such efforts differ from Republican actions in Texas, stating that “there [are] criteria that goes into how the lines are to be drawn. You can’t do it in a discriminatory fashion.” He added that “folks are watching for” whether Republicans will uphold longstanding voting rights protections.
Meanwhile, Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) is proposing to scrap his state’s nominally independent redistricting process in favor of a partisan gerrymander, following the example set by Governor J.B. Pritzker (D-IL). Newsom has criticized Texas’s redistricting push — which the DOJ claims is needed to correct unconstitutional district lines — while simultaneously proposing to redraw California’s maps to eliminate the few remaining Republican-held seats.
