Letter Calls On Congress To Support HR 4 - John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act
Our Vote Texas today joined a letter with 200 other groups to the U.S. House of Representatives urging their support for HR 4, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Shelby County v. Holder eviscerated the most powerful provision of the Voting Rights Act: the Section 5 preclearance system.[2] This provision applied to nine states and localities in another six states. These jurisdictions were required to obtain preclearance from the Justice Department or the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia before implementing any change in a voting practice or procedure.
The Supreme Court’s invalidation of the preclearance formula released an immediate and sustained flood of new voting restrictions in formerly covered states. Without the Voting Rights Act’s tools to fight the most blatant forms of discrimination, people of color continue to face barriers to exercising their most important civil right, including voter intimidation, felon disenfranchisement laws built on top of a system of mass incarceration, burdensome and costly voter ID requirements, and purges from the voter rolls. States have also cut back early voting opportunities, eliminated same-day voter registration, and shuttered polling places.
We know that legislative assaults on our vote won’t stop. Indeed, Texas is facing this ongoing battle right now as SB 1, the omnibus voter suppression bill, has tonight advanced out of House committee following the establishing of quorum last week.
The lawmakers who broke quorum to appeal to members of Congress to support voters across the country by passing the For The People Act have been working with the tools that they have to stand up for Texas voters. It is now paramount that leaders in Congress take up the cause and act.
Texas absolutely needs federal legislation to protect and advance voter rights - this Congress must support the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to ensure our place in democracy.
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Our Vote Texas is a people powered nonprofit committed to advancing voter education and voter rights in Texas through advocacy and outreach.
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Our Vote Texas
https://ourvotetexas.org/
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