ACLU Sends Letter Urging Senators to Support the Passage of Federal Voting Rights Legislation

WASHINGTON — The ACLU sent a letter today urging U.S. Senators to have a debate and vote in support of H.R. 5746, the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act.

If the Senate passes the bill next week—during the week of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day—it will be signed by the President and become law with sufficient time to protect the right to vote during the 2022 elections.

In the letter, the ACLU drew attention to how core protections of the Voting Rights Act have been gutted by the Supreme Court. As a consequence, the right to vote is under further attack by state legislatures and governors determined to pass legislation that will disproportionately burden voters of color and threaten their ability to exercise the right to vote and have each vote count equally. The ACLU also urged the Senate to change its rules to remove obstacles to its passage.

“Although tactics used by officials to discriminate have shifted in light of legal developments and political conditions, the strategies have remained the same, such as efforts to limit voting opportunities, diminish the collective power of minority voting strength, and advance laws that, while neutral on their face, would disproportionately deny or abridge the rights of minority voters,” said Christopher Anders, ACLU Federal Policy Director. “The Senate must act now to cement the legacy and restore the protections of the Voting Rights Act, and not allow its own rules to prevent it from carrying out its constitutional role.”

The right to vote is ceaselessly under attack across the country. In the last year, over 400 voter restriction measures have been introduced in state legislatures to impede citizens from voting. The Senate must pass H.R. 5746, the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act to protect the right to vote for all Americans.