A few weeks ago, the US Senate reintroduced the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (JRLVRAA), which will fully restore and modernize the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA). The JRLVRAA will ensure renewed oversight, accountability, and justice in our democracy so all voters can exercise their right to vote. The VRA was landmark civil rights legislation responding to barriers that prevented Black voters from exercising their right to vote. It remains necessary to prevent voter discrimination for all voters, no matter the language they speak, the color of their skin, or the zip code they live in. In the decades since it was passed into law, it has been reauthorized every time with bipartisan support and signed by Presidents of both political parties.
At this critical moment in our nation’s history, we need Congress to support the passage of the JRLVRAA and live up to the full promise of American democracy. This essential legislation would restore the Voting Rights Act to its full power.
Since the Supreme Court decision in Shelby County v. Holder that gutted the VRA, discriminatory voting laws have passed nationwide. We must restore and strengthen the VRA by passing the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, vital legislation needed to fully restore and modernize the VRA and ensure that discriminatory voting policies are stopped. We must ensure that every voter is treated fairly at the ballot box and everyone can exercise their freedom to vote. We cannot stand for a democracy that enables regressive and dangerous attacks on the right to cast one’s ballot, disproportionately impacting voters of color.
“Our freedom to vote is under attack,” said past LWV CEO Virginia Kase Solomón in response to the news. This new generation of lawmakers must respond to the call of the majority of Americans who support new legislation to protect the vote.
For more information on voting rights, visit https://www.lwv.org/voting-rights. For a JRLVAA fact sheet, visit the Brennan Center for Justice.