Serrano: Voting Rights Act Must Stand

As the Supreme Court meets today to hear a case on the constitutionality of Section 5 of the important Voting Rights Act, Congressman José E. Serrano said the law remains "deeply important" and "clearly constitutional." Serrano called the case against the landmark law out of touch with the realities of American voting issues.

"I am confident the Supreme Court will agree with those of us in Congress who reauthorized the Voting Rights Act in 2006. Back then, we found that there is still a deep and abiding need for monitoring of fair voting access in certain areas of the nation, including in the Bronx," said Congressman Serrano. "Congress extended this law with a great deal of thought, input, and scrutiny. We felt then, and continue to believe, that without this law many people would see serious infringement on their constitutional right to free and unfettered access to voting. Thus far the courts who have heard this legal challenge have stated that Congress acted properly under the 14th and 15th Amendments, and upheld the VRA. I believe that they saw the important constitutional imperative that Congress has to ensure voting access.

"The Voting Rights Act has been our most successful pieces of civil rights legislation, but sadly, there are still places in our nation where the right to vote is not assured without intervention. I deeply wish that the VRA was unnecessary, but because of the problems that have been documented, we must continue to provide proactive protection for voting access. Voting is a fundamental right in our democracy and we must do everything in our power to protect it. Section 5 of the VRA does just that and deserves to stand. "

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