Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan hosted a voting rights roundtable yesterday in honor of the 59th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
McClellan, who represents the Fourth District in Virginia, was joined by community leaders and voting rights advocates to discuss ongoing threats to voting rights and efforts to preserve access to the ballot box.
In 2013, the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act in its Shelby County v. Holder decision and unleashed a wave of discriminatory state laws targeting voters and restricting voting access. Among other restrictions, the laws have closed polling stations, curbed early voting and voting by mail, imposed strict identification requirements, limited multi-lingual voting materials and made it harder to register to vote.
“Voting rights are sacred and personal to me. My great-grandfather had to take a literacy test and find three white men to vouch for him just to be able to vote. My grandfather and father had to pay poll taxes. My great-grandmothers and grandmothers never voted, and my mother didn’t vote until after the Voting Rights Act of 1965,” McClellan said. “The Voting Rights Act was the culmination of the Civil Rights Movement and an important step toward unlocking the true power of democracy. However, the fight for equal access to the ballot box continues today, especially in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Shelby County v. Holder decision. As a member of the Task Force on Strengthening Democracy, I will continue fighting in Congress to advance the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act. I thank all of the participants who joined me today for their insights and continued efforts to protect voting rights.”
“We had lines all the way down Grass Fields in Southside… everyone was celebrating the fact that so many people came out to vote, but that is an actual antithesis of early access voting — to have lines that long and having to stand in it,” said Del. Michael J. Jones. “It’s personal for me because even though laws are meted out, how it’s meted out by local registrars is not equitable.”
Alexsis Rodgers, Political Director at Black Futures Lab, said the Lab’s Black Census Project spoke to more than 200,000 Black Americans about experiences, concerns and dreams for the future.
“The results demonstrate that Black people are concerned about rules that make it harder to vote with 17 percent of census respondents listing it as a top issue impacting Black people. In the aftermath of the Shelby decision, many states have acted against the interest of Black communities by passing restrictive and discriminatory voting laws that have a disproportionate impact on our ability to vote. Congress should pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act to protect the freedom to vote for all Americans,” Rodgers said.
One of Tram Nguyen‘s proudest achievements is working with McClellan on the passage of the Voting Rights Act of Virginia. Nguyen is Co-Executive Director of New Virginia Majority.
“But with the gutting of the federal Voting Rights Act, millions of Americans across the country aren’t afforded the same protections or access to the ballot as we are in Virginia. The ability to exercise our right to vote should not depend on our zip code. Now more than ever, it’s imperative that Congress pass The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and The Freedom to Vote Act so that we all can have an equal say, no matter where we live,” Nguyen said.
Education and leading the next generation are “extremely important,” according to Monica Hutchinson, President of the Henrico County NAACP.
“The seed of doubt was planted many decades ago, the doubt that we matter and that our vote counts. Let me say what so many have said before, if your vote didn’t count they wouldn’t fight so hard to suppress it. Since 1909, the NAACP has been fighting for our political rights, voting rights, civil Rights and more. We are far from done, The Fight Continues.”
Nicole Martin, President of the Chesterfield County NAACP, said her organization advocates for passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to “provide adequate funding and resources to state and local jurisdictions to improve and provide safe, secure and effective voting systems and that no excuse mail-in voting be secured in every state and territory. This election cycle is critical for black and brown Americans. Our right to vote needs to be protected and honored!”
“All faiths believe in justice. We need our faith-based community to put their faith in action during the 2024 election cycle,” said Robert Lester at the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy.
Edgardo Cortes, the former Virginia Commissioner of Elections, said both “pieces of federal legislation are critical to making sure voters have the same ability to participate regardless of where they live and that states cannot place burdensome restrictions on the fundamental right to vote.”
“Across Virginia, voters continue to experience the lasting effects of Jim Crow and efforts to systemically disenfranchise them, denying them the freedom to vote,” said Nicholas Gothard, Senior National Coordinator of Election Protection, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “The Lawyers’ Committee has been at the forefront of advocating for voters through litigation, policy, and community action in Virginia, helping lead the Virginia Election Protection Coalition – the Commonwealth’s largest nonpartisan voter protection effort. This year, more than ever, the ballot box must be accessible for all Virginians and anyone experiencing problems or with questions is encouraged to call our national nonpartisan Election Protection Hotline, 866-OUR-VOTE.”
In Congress, McClellan is a member of the Task Force on Strengthening Democracy and an original cosponsor of H.R. 14, the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, and H.R. 11, the Freedom to Vote Act.
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Rebecca Barnabi
