Jack, for decades, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA) was a critical check against anti-democratic efforts to silence and suppress the voices of millions of voters of color, blocking discriminatory voting laws before they could take effect.

Then the Supreme Court's 2013 Shelby County decision gutted Section 5 of the VRA—opening the floodgates to a wave of restrictive voting bills, extreme gerrymandering, voter roll purges and polling location closures targeting voters of color. As a result, voters have faced barriers to the ballot box and voted under gerrymandered district maps that denied them fair representation in Congress.

Sign and send to Congress: Restore and modernize the Voting Rights Act.

SIGN AND SEND
Democratic Rep. Terri A. Sewell has reintroduced the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would modernize and restore the full protections of the VRA. State and local governments with histories of discrimination would once again have changes to their voting laws reviewed in order to prevent restrictive, discriminatory voting laws from taking effect.

The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, coupled with the Freedom to Vote Act, will ensure that every eligible American—from Latino voters in California, to American Indian voters in South Dakota, to Black voters in Georgia—has access to the ballot box and protection against anti-democratic attacks in state legislatures across the nation.

“One person, one vote" is a core tenet of our democracy. Members of Congress must fulfill their obligation to protect the freedom to vote by enacting legislation that will fully restore and strengthen the VRA.

Sign and send to Congress: Pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.

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Keep fighting,
Monique Teal, Daily Kos