A variable voltage protection component in accordance with this invention comprises a reinforcing layer of insulating material having a substantially constant thickness embedded in a voltage variable material. With this configuration, the reinforcing layer defines a uniform thickness for the variable voltage protection component that is resist to compressive forces that may cause a reduction in the clamp voltage or a short in the voltage variable material. In addition, the variable voltage protection component can be attached to a compressible ground plane to form a variable voltage protection device. Methods are provided for making the variable voltage protection component and device.