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Representative Terri Sewell, D-Ala., Wednesday reintroduced the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act in the House. The bill, H.R. 14, would strengthen the legal protections against racial discrimination in voting and representation — safeguards that the Supreme Court has gutted.
Two days from now is the 60th anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama, when law enforcement violently assaulted the late Representative Lewis and hundreds of other peaceful protestors advocating for equal access to the polls.
Eliza Sweren-Becker, senior counsel in the Brennan Center’s voting rights program, had the following reaction:
“By enacting the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, Congress can bring back the protections against racial discrimination that the Roberts Court has destroyed. The House should pass it.
“Sixty years since John Lewis suffered through Bloody Sunday, voters of color in America still face discrimination. Congress should be protecting the freedom to vote, not advancing another sweeping, restrictive voting bill that would disproportionately burden Americans of color.
“Congress came incredibly close to passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Act in 2022. It must act now to fulfill Congressman Lewis’s vision of a democracy that is open to all.”
Since its passage in 1965, the Voting Rights Act was one of the most effective tools for curbing racial discrimination in voting and representation. But in 2013, the Supreme Court’s decision in Shelby County v. Holder stripped the law of one of its key protections, unleashing a decade of racially discriminatory voting laws and gerrymandering.
The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law has studied the impact of that ruling on voter turnout, finding a widening disparity in turnout rates between white voters and voters of color. The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would restore the Voting Rights Act’s protections against racial discrimination in voting and improve upon the landmark law to safeguard voters of color at the polls.
The statement available online here.
