House Passes John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, Senate Must Follow and Protect Freedom to Vote

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Kiren Marshall, [email protected], 202.780.9835

WASHINGTON — Jesselyn McCurdy, interim executive vice president of government affairs of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives’ vote today passing H.R. 4, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act:

“Nothing is more fundamental to American democracy than the freedom to vote. The House today took a major step toward protecting this sacred right by passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. While the 2013 Shelby County decision gutted the Voting Rights Act, the Supreme Court invited Congress to update the law, which is precisely what this critically important legislation does. Congress has been supplied with powerful and incontrovertible evidence of how racial discrimination still exists in voting, and it is imperative that the Senate move expeditiously to pass this legislation and protect the freedom to vote for all.”

The Leadership Conference sent a letter to the House this week, signed by 200 organizations, urging lawmakers to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. That letter can be found here.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 220 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 member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.

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