D21 Applauds Reintroduction Of The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act In The House
“Protecting the sacred right to vote for all eligible Americans should be a priority for all Members of Congress.”
Statement of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer
The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, introduced in the House today, is a vitally important step forward in the work to protect the sacred right to vote for all eligible citizens. For decades, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 protected the right to vote for all Americans by preventing restrictive, discriminatory voting laws from taking effect. The Act was gutted by the Supreme Court in 2013. Today, voters of color, Native American voters, voters with disabilities, and the elderly are being disproportionately impacted by a growing number of voter suppression laws that have been passed in numerous states. These laws represent the greatest voter suppression effort in the United States since the Jim Crow era. The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would protect the rights of all voters by restoring and modernizing the protections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. A companion measure, the Freedom to Vote Act, was introduced in the House and Senate in July. The Freedom to Vote Act, which contains voting rights provisions that the late Rep. John Lewis introduced and championed for many years, would overturn the dangerous voter suppression laws that have already been passed in numerous states. The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would help ensure that future state voter suppression efforts are prevented. Together, these reform measures will help turn back today’s dangerous tide of Jim Crow-era voter suppression and discrimination that threatens the sacred right to vote for tens of millions of Americans and our very democracy. The voter suppression efforts underway in our nation threaten the very foundation of our democracy. They have been accompanied by insidious efforts to discredit and undermine the integrity of our election process. Democracy 21 applauds Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL) for leading the fight to protect the rights of all voters by reintroducing the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. We also applaud her Democratic colleagues who have joined her as cosponsors of this vital legislation. The reauthorizations of the Voting Rights Act in the past have been approved by overwhelming bipartisan votes in Congress. But, in recent years, legislation to protect the right to vote has been almost universally opposed by Republicans. Senate Republicans ultimately killed the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act last year by a filibuster. Protecting the sacred right to vote for all eligible Americans should be a priority for all Members of Congress. “The vote is precious. It is almost sacred,” Rep. Lewis, the civil rights champion, once said. “It is the most powerful non-violent tool we have in a democracy.” We strongly urge Congress to pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and to also pass the Freedom to Vote Act.
# # #
