States move to shore up voting rights protections after courts erode federal safeguards

By STEVE KARNOWSKI
Associated Press

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A ruling that weakened a key part of the Voting Rights Act is spurring lawmakers in several states to enact state-level protections to plug gaps that the courts opened in the landmark federal law. Legislators in Minnesota, Michigan, Maryland, New Jersey and Florida are pursuing state voting rights acts, building on ones enacted by several other states, including New York and Connecticut. Democratic-led states have been taking matters into their own hands while national legislation to expand voting rights remains stalled in a divided Congress and Republican-led states impose new restrictions.