Yesterday marked 59 years since the Voting Rights Act of 1965 — the landmark legislation that helped protect against racially discriminatory voting practices — was signed into law.

But in 2013, the Supreme Court gutted one of that law’s core protections and made it easier for states to restrict the rights of voters, especially people of color.

In the decade since, legislators across the country have imposed barriers and barely concealed their intent to deter people of color from voting.

So we must once again push our elected leaders to support major voting rights legislation.

• The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would restore the Voting Rights Act and modernize the historic civil rights law.

• The Freedom to Vote Act would create baseline national standards to ensure we all have equal access to the ballot.

• DC Statehood would finally give voting representation in Congress to the nearly 700,000 residents of Washington, D.C.

• The Native American Voting Rights Act would address the unique challenges Native voters face — like limited transportation, limited broadband access, fewer polling places, and limited assistance in Native languages.

Tell Congress:

To ensure that every person has a voice in shaping our communities and our future, you must pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, the Freedom to Vote Act, DC Statehood, and the Native American Voting Rights Act.

Click to add your name now.

Thanks for taking action.

For democracy,

- Robert Weissman & Lisa Gilbert, Co-Presidents of Public Citizen
 
 
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