Civil and Human Rights Coalition Applauds the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, NAACP, and Advancement Project Appeal of North Carolina Voter Suppression Lawsuit, Calls for VRA Restoration

WASHINGTON – Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement after the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, the North Carolina NAACP and the Advancement Project announced that they would appeal the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina’s decision to uphold the restrictive and discriminatory voter suppression law, H.B. 589, which has already significantly burdened voters of color in the state. The Leadership Conference Education Fund, in partnership with the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, recently released a series of videos featuring North Carolina voters who were denied the right to vote by H.B. 589 in 2014: 

“We applaud the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, the North Carolina NAACP and the Advancement Project’s appeal of one of the most restrictive voting laws passed since the Voting Rights Act was implemented more than 50 years ago.

As soon as the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act, North Carolina rushed to lead our nation in denying voting rights to its own people.  As a country that prides itself on being a beacon of democracy to the world, that is a national disgrace.

Along with the courts, Congress has the responsibility to protect our nation’s voters.  Two bipartisan VRA restoration bills currently languish in Congress. Our elected representatives must hold hearings on these bills. 

For the sake of the integrity of the upcoming general election, the first presidential election in 50 years without the protections of the Voting Rights Act, we urge Congress to act now.”

Wade Henderson is president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its 200-plus member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.