On a bright sunny afternoon August 17, Democratic lawmakers stood at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, AL to mark the introduction of yet another bill aimed at protecting the right to vote, now being jeopardized in many Republican-led states.
For many, that bridge is hallowed ground, as it's where the late civil rights icon, John Lewis, once marched with hundreds of others, braving police tear gas and clubs, fighting for the right to vote.
The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (H.R. 4), would restore the protections of the Voting Rights Act that Lewis battled to enact as a civil rights activist. The legislation is needed because in 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court, in its Shelby County v. Holder decision, invalidated the law's prohibition against jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination from changing voting rules without permission from the Justice Department or a federal court.
Testifying before the House Judiciary Committee August 16, Wendy Weiser, Vice President for Democracy at the Brennan Center for Justice, told lawmakers that passage of the bill is "especially urgent now as a decade worth of efforts to restrict voting rights have reached a fever pitch."
Said Weiser, "States across the country are rapidly passing new laws rolling back voting access—many of them targeting voters of color. These new laws are being implemented on top of a host of other discriminatory voting practices that have been put in place or attempted in recent years. We are also headed into a redistricting cycle, following last week’s release of Census data, that is expected to be characterized by racial discrimination and severe gerrymandering targeting communities of color."
As the Brennan Center's Michael Waldman writes, "President Biden has placed his full support behind it, and his Justice Department has told Congress that the bill must be passed so that the federal government can properly protect Americans’ voting rights nationwide as the midterms quickly approach. The legislation would provide a desperately needed bulwark against continuing state voter suppression efforts. Congress must pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act without delay."
Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL), the bill's sponsor, stood at the foot of that famed bridge in Selma August 17 to say she was there to "get into good trouble," a famous phrase often used by the late Rep. Lewis, as she called for its passage.
"I support #HR4 because our nation is stronger when everyone has a say in the decisions that affect our lives," Sewell said. "By preventing states with a recent history of voter discrimination from restricting the right the vote, #HR4 restores the FULL promise of our democracy."
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stressed that Democrats "are fighting back against an anti-democratic tide, protecting access to the ballot box for every American and carrying on the cause to which our beloved John Lewis devoted his entire life.
“A brazen, partisan campaign of voter suppression silences voters of color across the nation and threatens to erode our democracy," she said, adding that when the House returns from its recess on August 23, Democrats intend top pass H.R. 4 and called on Republicans to provide bipartisan support."
So far, Republicans have blocked passage of related legislation, the For the People Act, which would expand voting rights, change campaign finance laws to reduce the influence of money in politics, ban partisan gerrymandering, and create new ethics rules for federal officeholders.
That bill was passed on a party-line vote in the House on March 3, but has been blocked by a Republican filibuster in the Senate.
Will HR4 suffer the same fate?