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For Immediate Release
Contact:

Kiren Marshall, marshall@civilrights.org

Anti-Democracy Senators Dishonor John Lewis' Legacy by Undermining Our Freedom to Vote

WASHINGTON

Wade Henderson, interim president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, released the following statement after anti-voter senators blocked the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act from a full floor debate:

"The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would help identify barriers that could silence Black, Latino, Indigenous, young, and new Americans and ensure we all have an equal say in the decisions that impact our lives. Anti-voter senators have yet again attacked the most basic principle of our democracy -- equal access to the ballot. By refusing to ensure that we are able to vote freely, they are denying us the right to shape our communities and make decisions for how to tackle the pandemic, access affordable health care, or provide for our families. While today's bipartisan vote shows that we can find common ground, those who opposed debate on the VRAA are attacking the well-being of our communities.

"Congress has been supplied with powerful and incontrovertible evidence of how racial discrimination still exists in voting. Now is the time for the Senate to pass this legislation and protect the freedom to vote for all."

Background:

The Leadership Conference sent a letter of support to the Senate on the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. You can view that letter here.

In 2021, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights commissioned reports on the state of voting rights in 13 states across the country. They document ongoing and recent patterns of racial discrimination at the ballot box against Black, Brown, Asian, and Native voters. You can read those reports here.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the civil and human rights of all persons in the United States. Through advocacy and outreach to targeted constituencies, The Leadership Conference works toward the goal of a more open and just society - an America as good as its ideals.

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