Today, lawmakers in Connecticut took a crucial procedural step toward considering and enacting strong, state-level protections against discrimination in voting. By voting unanimously to raise the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act of Connecticut (CTVRA), the Government Administration and Elections (GAE) Committee of the Connecticut General Assembly paved the way for a public hearing on this landmark bill, which builds upon the federal Voting Rights Act as well as successful state-level laws already enacted in New York, California, Washington, Oregon, and Virginia.
In response to the news, the Legal Defense Fund’s (LDF’s) Director of Policy and Director of the Washington, D.C. Office Lisa Cylar Barrett issued the following statement:
“The NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) commends the GAE Committee for taking this important step toward protecting voting rights in the state of Connecticut. We appreciate the leadership of Senator Mae Flexer and Representative Matt Blumenthal in moving this process forward, and will continue to work with Connecticut lawmakers, and our partners in the civil rights community, to advance this critical legislation.”
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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 completely 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.
