McClellan Joins Sewell to Introduce the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act Ahead of the 60th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday

Washington, D.C. – In case you missed it: Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan (VA-04) joined Congresswoman Terri A. Sewell (AL-07) and 212 House Democrats to introduce H.R. 14, the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. The bill restores and modernizes the protections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 gutted by the U.S. Supreme Court in its 2013 Shelby v. Holder and prevents states with a history of voter discrimination from erecting new barriers to the ballot box.

“I hold the right to vote sacred because my family fought so hard to earn it. My great grandfather had to take a literacy test and find three white men to vouch for his character to register to vote.  My father and grandfather had to pay poll taxes to register. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 changed all that because courageous Americans like John Lewis put their lives on the line,” said Congresswoman McClellan. “Over the past decade, legislators across our nation have advanced hundreds of new laws to make it harder for Americans to exercise their right to vote. Building on the legacy of generations of civil rights activists, I am proud to introduce the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act with Rep. Sewell.”

On March 7, 1965, in Selma, Alabama, the late Congressman John Lewis and hundreds of Foot Soldiers were viciously attacked by police while peacefully demonstrating in support of the equal right of all Americans to vote. The brutality of Bloody Sunday galvanized the Civil Rights Movement and led to the passage of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA).

For decades, the VRA prevented states with a history of voter discrimination from erecting new barriers to the ballot box, until it was gutted by the Supreme Court in the 2013 Shelby County v. Holder decision. Without its guardrails, state officials have enacted at least 94 restrictive voting laws, many in states with a history of racial voting discrimination. Subsequent Supreme Court decisions have further weakened the VRA, making it more difficult to challenge voter discrimination in court.

The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would restore and modernize the protections of the VRA. It would establish a modern-day framework to determine which states and localities have a recent history of voter discrimination and require those jurisdictions to pre-clear new voting law with the Department of Justice. 

The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act is cosponsored by every House Democrat and supported by more than 140 organizations across the nation.

Read the full bill text here.