The law protected and expanded voting rights across the country -- banning racist literacy tests and other obstacles to minority representation, resulting in increased Black voter registration, Black voter turnout, and Black officeholders in the years after its passage.
But 7 years ago, the Supreme Court gutted a key provision of the law -- one that empowers the federal government to step in and stop voter discrimination in local jurisdictions. And over the course of the last decade, 25 states have introduced measures that would make it harder for voters -- especially voters of color -- to have their voices heard.
It will be difficult enough to vote this election without having to contend with racist voter ID laws, targeted voter roll purges, impossibly long lines, and last-minute polling place closures. We can’t allow widespread voter suppression to occur in the most important election of our lifetimes.
House Democrats have passed a solution -- the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act. The bill would restore protections to America’s voters and ensure the safety and security of the November election before it’s too late.
But Republicans have been fighting voting rights for years. We’ve seen them suppress voters this very election -- and if we want November’s vote to be free and fair, we need to make sure they don’t obstruct the Voting Rights Act any longer.
Thank YOU for being part of the fight,
Progressive Majority
