WASHINGTON, D.C. — To mark the 11th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Shelby County v. Holder decision gutting the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (MA-5) joined Congresswoman Terri Sewell (AL-7), Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (CA-33), Assistant Democratic Leader Joe Neguse (CO-2), Congressional Hispanic Caucus Deputy Chair Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), and Congressman James Clyburn (SC-6) in calling on the House Republican Majority to hold a vote on the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
“Thank you to my friend, the Suffragist from Selma, Terri Sewell — and to all my colleagues and leaders here with me today and across our Democratic Caucus — for taking up the banner that the great John Lewis carried for so long. The cause that so many have bled for and died for. The principle that nothing is more sacred or foundational to a democracy than equal access to the ballot box.
“When a 23-year-old John Lewis joined the March on Washington, he declared to the hundreds of thousands of people gathered on the National Mall: ‘How long can we be patient? We want our freedom, and we want it now.’
“That impatience propelled a generation of Americans to make good on long-broken promises, to secure the Voting Rights Act, and to swing open the doors of polling places across this country.
“But — as Congresswoman Sewell set forth — six decades later, the fight to preserve, protect, and defend our democracy is still raging. The sanctity of the vote is still under siege. And as we gather to mark 11 long years since Shelby v. Holder, we still face the same enemy: extremists who think voting should be a privilege, and not a right — who believe that the polling place should be invite-only.
“The extremism that spurred the Big Lie — fueled an insurrection on our Capitol — it’s the same ideology that motivated the Shelby decision and the flood of anti-voter bills that followed.
“This is a battle over the fundamental nature of our country. Will we be a nation rooted in freedom or extremism? Will we enact the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act? Or will we keep sliding back into government for a few?
“House Democrats are proud to stand on the side of democracy, on the side of the American people, and on the right side of history. We will not allow the legacy of of those freedom fighters to go undefended. We will channel their impatience. And we will not rest until the John Lewis Voting Rights Act is the law of the land.”
The full press conference can be viewed HERE.
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