Issue Position: Fight for Voting Rights Nationwide
Issue Position
Congressman Butterfield is dedicated to protecting the right to vote for all Americans. On June 25, 2013, the Supreme Court struck down Section 4 (b) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA). The historic VRA prohibits racial discrimination in elections. Section 4 of the VRA is the formula that designates certain areas of the country that must have proposed changes to their voting laws cleared by the federal government or in federal court before implementing those changes. Without an enforceable Section 4, the VRA has been exploited by extreme and conservative state legislatures in an effort to disenfranchise voters. Congressman Butterfield will not let this setback to the VRA hinder America's progress for equality and representative democracy.
You Should Know
As a young lawyer, Congressman Butterfield began his legal career advocating for voting equality. Now, as a Member of Congress, he continues to fight discriminatory and politically motivated initiatives that aim to disenfranchise voters across the country.
In the year since the Supreme Court overturned Section 4 (b) of the VRA in Shelby County v. Holder, many Republican-controlled state legislatures passed laws that severely hinder Americans right to vote. Extended lines and waiting periods, mass dissemination of misinformation, plus new and confusing rules designed to suppress voter turnout has created barriers for millions of Americans at the polls. Congressman Butterfield strongly supports the Voter Empowerment Act, which follows in the footsteps of the VRA and the 24th amendment by eradicating barriers to voting.
Congressman Butterfield is holding his colleagues accountable for the protection of voting rights for all Americans by insisting that House Republicans act on legislation that would reinstate voter protections contained in the VRA. He believes that those whose chief goal is to maintain political power at the cost of disenfranchising millions of Americans must be stopped. He is fighting to reinstate the protections of the VRA and undo the discriminatory voting policies enacted in North Carolina and across the country.
Source