U.S. Representative Terri Sewell, D-Alabama, released the following statement Wednesday, marking 12 years since the Supreme Court’s Shelby County v. Holder decision:
“Twelve years ago today, the Supreme Court took an axe to the heart of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, striking down key provisions that protected against racial discrimination in voting. The Shelby decision opened the door to a full-scale attack on the right to vote that continues today. It will be remembered as one of the most disastrous Supreme Court rulings in modern American history.
“Attacks on our voting rights have only accelerated in recent years. Driven by Trump’s ‘Big Lie’ of a stolen election, state officials have advanced hundreds of new bills to restrict voting access. And most recently, Republicans in Congress tried to push through new legislation to make it harder to vote for millions of married women, service members, and Americans without passports.
“Here in Alabama’s 7th Congressional District, we fundamentally understand the importance of ensuring that every American has equal access to the ballot box, and I’m proud to be leading that fight in Congress. In March, I reintroduced the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to restore the full protections of the VRA and put an end to this new era of voter suppression. On this solemn anniversary, I’m renewing my call for Speaker Johnson and Congressional Republicans to let us vote on this urgently needed legislation.
“John Lewis didn’t get bludgeoned on a bridge in Selma just for Congress to sit by as extremists chip away at our fundamental freedoms.”
Sewell serves as ranking member of the Committee on House Administration Subcommittee on Elections, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Voting Rights Task Force, and co-chair of the Congressional Voting Rights Caucus.
She is the author and lead sponsor of the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act in the House of Representatives.
