Today, lead-sponsors Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dick Durbin and Senator Raphael Warnock reintroduced the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (VRAA) in the U.S. Senate, a piece of legislation that will strengthen voting rights for all Americans and protect voters from discrimination.
Among many key provisions, the VRAA will provide voters with necessary tools to address discriminatory voting practices and protect all Americans’ equal access to the ballot box. These protections include restoring the vital federal preclearance provisions, procedural provisions that prevent jurisdictions with a history of voting rights violations from implementing electoral changes without prior approval.
The VRAA would also strengthen Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which was undercut by the recent Supreme Court Brnovich decision but was recently affirmed by the Legal Defense Fund (LDF)’s Supreme Court case, Allen v. Milligan, a major win in the fight against racial discrimination in redistricting.
In response, LDF President and Director-Counsel Janai Nelson issued the following statement:
“We applaud the reintroduction of the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, a critical step in protecting Black communities that was named in remembrance of one of our nation’s chief voting rights champions.
“Since the 2013 Shelby County Supreme Court decision that severely weakened the Voting Rights Act, we have seen increasingly targeted attacks on Black voters’ access to the polls and to equal representation. Recent attempts by the executive branch to manipulate our electoral processes in order to entrench power require federal legislation like the VRAA that will protect voters. It is now more important than ever to shield our democracy from rampant voter discrimination.
“As we approach the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, we should remember that it has enjoyed overwhelming bipartisan support since its original enactment, up to and including its most recent reauthorization in 2006. LDF urges Congress in the strongest terms possible to fulfill its responsibility to the Constitution and the electorate by passing the VRAA in order to fully restore and strengthen the Voting Rights Act.”
To learn more about LDF’s work to increase voter protections, visit our website here.
To learn more about LDF’s efforts to enact State Voting Rights Acts, visit our website here.
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Founded in 1940, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) is the nation’s first civil rights law organization. LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute is a multi-disciplinary and collaborative hub within LDF that launches targeted campaigns and undertakes innovative research to shape the civil rights narrative. In media attributions, please refer to us as the Legal Defense Fund or LDF. Please note that LDF has been separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957 — although LDF was originally founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights.
