The Leadership Conference Will Mobilize 108 Civil Rights Groups Throughout the Country on Voting Rights
National coalition will organize during Shelby Week to urge Congress to restore Voting Rights Act
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Kristen Voorhees, [email protected], 202.548.7166
WASHINGTON — As the country marks the six-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Shelby County v. Holder that gutted a critical section of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights will launch a Shelby Week campaign, mobilizing 108 civil rights organizations to demand the restoration of the VRA and urge members of Congress to pass the Voting Rights Advancement Act (VRAA). These groups will hold rallies, events, and actions nationwide in 10 states to highlight rampant racial discrimination in the nation’s election systems and the need for comprehensive reform to respond to the rollback in voting rights that has resulted from the ruling.
Since the 2013 Shelby decision, the nation has witnessed a resurgence of discriminatory laws and policies meant to silence voters of color. Several states have shortened early voting hours and days, enacted new barriers to voter registration, implemented stringent photo ID requirements, purged voters from the rolls, reshaped districts, and closed polling places. All of these tactics effectively shut out eligible voters from the democratic process, disproportionately affecting marginalized communities.
“When people are denied the right to vote, it places our democracy in peril and puts our civil rights at risk,” said Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. “We must have a working democracy in order to make progress on important racial justice issues like educational equity, justice system reform, and immigrant rights. Congress must restore the protections against racial discrimination that the Supreme Court destroyed in Shelby and pass the VRAA. The fate of our nation depends on ensuring every voice is heard.”
In addition to a Tuesday press conference and House Judiciary Committee hearing on the Shelby anniversary in Washington D.C., echo events will take place throughout the country, including in Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, Texas, and more. The 108 organizations endorsing Shelby Week are listed below.
9to5
act.tv
Advancement Project
African American Ministers In Action
AFSCME
Alaska Public Interest Research Group (AkPIRG)
Alliance for Justice
Alliance for Youth Action
Alliance for Youth Organization
American Association of People with Disabilities
American Association of University Women (AAUW)
American Civil Liberties Union
American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)
American Federation of Teachers
Andrew Goodman Foundation
Anti-Defamation League
Arab American Institute
Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF)
Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC
Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus
Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance
Asian Pacific Community in Action
Bend the Arc Jewish
Blue Future
Brave New Films
Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law
Campaign Legal Center
Center for American Progress – Race and Ethnicity
Center for Popular Democracy
Church Women United in New York State
Common Cause
CREDO
DC Vote
Demand Universal Healthcare-DUH
Democracy 21
Democrats.com
Demos
Disability Rights Arkansas, Inc.
Disability Rights Florida
Disability Rights New Jersey
End Citizens United Action Fund
Equal Justice Society
Equal Rights Advocates
Fair Elections Center
FairVote
Florida Immigrant Coalition
Franciscan Action Network
Friends of Goody Bassett
Generation Progress
Georgia Coalition for the Peoples Agenda
Hip Hop Caucus
Hispanic Federation
Human Rights Campaign
Impact Fund
In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda
Jewish Community of Louisville
Jewish Community Relations Council of Atlanta
Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Portland
Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Justice for Migrant Women
Kentucky Protection and Advocacy
Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
League of Conservation Voters
League of Women Voters, U.S.
Lift Our Vote 2020
LULAC Florida
Matthew Shepard Foundation
Muslim Advocates
NAACP
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc.
NALEO Educational Fund
National Action Network
National Association of Social Workers
National Black Law Students Association
National Center for Transgender Equality
National Council of Jewish Women Pittsburgh
National Council of Jewish Women, Inc.
National Disability Rights Network (NDRN)
National Education Association
National Organization for Women
National Urban League
Native American Rights Fund
NETWORK Lobby
NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
New American Leaders Action Fund
New Voices for Reproductive Justice
North Carolina Council of Churches
People Demanding Action
People For the American Way
Progressive Turnout Project
Public Citizen
Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
Roanoke Branch NAACP
Rock the Vote
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS)
SisterReach
Southern Coalition for Social Justice
Southern Poverty Law Center
Stand Up America
State Voices
The Center for Popular Democracy
The National Association for Bilingual Education
Transformative Justice Coalition
United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries
Voto Latino
Wisconsin Voices
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is 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.