Senator Coons introduces bill to restore the Voting Rights Act

Press Release

U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) joined colleagues from the House and Senate today to introduce the Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2015, legislation that would restore and modernize voting protections for all Americans. The bill restores key provisions of the Voting Rights Act, which was gutted by the Supreme Court in the 2013 ruling in Shelby County v. Holder. Since then, states and localities throughout the country have passed sweeping laws that disproportionately suppress the voting rights of minorities. These laws have left voters without the protections they need to exercise their constitutional right to vote.

"Fifty years after Selma, the civil rights movement has not yet finished, and in states across Americas, voting rights that were once protected by federal statute are now again at risk from modern day Jim Crow laws," said Senator Coons. "This legislation recognizes the challenges we've overcome, but more importantly, it recognizes the challenges we still face today."

"If it was not clear in 2014, I think it is clear today that we have come a great distance in this country toward healing the divisions and problems among us, but we are not there yet," said civil rights icon and Congressman John Lewis (D-Ga.). "This legislation acknowledges that we still have much more work to do, but we have come too far, and we have made too much progress to stop now. I support this legislation and hope that this Congress will do what is right by the people of this nation and pass the voting right legislation that restores justice, dignity, and equal access to the ballot box in America."

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