Gov. Northam approves Voting Rights Act, making Virginia the first state to approve its own
Democratic Governor Ralph Northam has signed the Voting Rights Act of Virginia into law, making Virginia the first state in the country to have its own voting rights act. The law is designed to protect voters from discrimination, intimidation, and suppression. It requires election officials to get feedback or pre-approval from the Office of the Attorney General on any proposed voting changes, allows people to sue in cases of voter suppression, prohibits at-large local elections if they “dilute the voting power of racial minorities,”