Tell Congress to Restore the VRA Today

September 26, 2014
0 Comments

Voting is a fundamental right in America. It is not merely a Democratic or a Republican issue, but a human rights issue. Racial discrimination in voting is a reality that merits an urgent response. It is time for Congress to modernize the Voting Rights Act and restore the important voter protections that were crippled by the Supreme Court’s June 25 decision in Shelby County v. Holder last year.

Discrimination in voting is not a thing of the past. Since the Supreme Court’s decision in the Shelby case, many states and localities have pushed forward discriminatory changes to voting procedures, such as changing district boundaries and moving polling locations in areas with high concentrations of minority voters. For instance, ADC-Michigan has taken action to combat voter suppression against Arab-Americans in Michigan.

We need a modern Voting Rights Act that provides tools that respond to discriminatory voting laws. Every day that Congress fails to act, voters are in danger, and so is the most fundamental right in our democracy. If the right to vote is threatened, the integrity of our entire democracy is also threatened.The time to act is now.

Tell Congress to restore the VRA today.