59 years ago today, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed into law — a monumental step towards equal access to the ballot box.
But in the decades since, we’ve seen provisions of the VRA gutted, paving the way for voter suppression laws. Let me explain how ↓
The VRA empowered the federal government to block states and localities with a history of discriminatory voter disenfranchisement from enacting restrictions on the right to vote. But disastrous Supreme Court decisions stripped the VRA’s ability to proactively prevent changes to election laws that would disenfranchise voters, including those who have historically been targeted by voter suppression laws that propelled the Civil Rights Movement.
As it currently stands, the federal government is extremely limited in its ability to challenge discriminatory voting laws. The right to vote is precious, and we must fight to defend it. As citizens of this country, we are entrusted with a great responsibility to exercise the constitutional right to choose our elected officials.
For the sanctity of our democracy, our rights, and the notion of fair representation — we must pass voting rights protections at the federal level to protect the right to vote today.
Congressman Sanford Bishop is serving his sixteenth term in the United States House of Representatives, representing the constituents of the Second Congressional District of Georgia. A consensus builder that works with members on both sides of the aisle, Congressman Bishop is uniquely dedicated to his constituents and has demonstrated himself as a leader inside of Congress.
