Senate Fails to Move John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act

WASHINGTON — Today, League of Women Voters of the US Board President Dr. Deborah Ann Turner issued the following statement in response to the Senate’s first floor vote (50—49) on the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act: 

“Once again, the Senate has failed to do its job to protect the voting freedoms of all Americans. By failing to even debate the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (VRAA), senators are allowing unbridled attacks on our voting rights to continue. 

“The American people demand that their government protect the freedom to vote. This morning 59 activists were arrested in front of the White House, calling on President Biden to use the full power of his office to get voting rights legislation passed. We the people will not back down until our right to vote is guaranteed. Our senators and President, who are elected — not appointed — officials, should be front and center in the fight for voting rights.

“The VRAA will restore the vital protections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a law that has historically been reauthorized with bipartisan support at every opportunity. But the Voting Rights Act was stripped of its powerful anti-discrimination provisions in 2013. Without these protections, attacks on the voting freedoms of Black, Hispanic and Latinx, Native American, and AAPI voters will continue. Our democracy is not whole until discriminatory barriers to the vote are eliminated. 

“The Senate must relinquish its allegiance to the Jim Crow filibuster and reform Senate rules to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.” 

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PRESS CONTACT: Kayla Vix | 202-809-9668 | [email protected]