End Citizens United (ECU) // Let America Vote (LAV) President Tiffany Muller released the following statement ahead of the tenth anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in Shelby County v. Holder:
“In the ten years since the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a crowning achievement of the Civil Rights Movement, Republican lawmakers systematically put up barriers to the ballot box and disenfranchised voters—particularly Black voters.
“As a fundamental pillar of democracy, voting is supposed to give each and every American the freedom to choose who represents them and speak out on issues that matter to them at the ballot box. Shelby County v. Holder emboldened Republicans to pass anti-voter laws that hinder people’s access to the ballot box—corroding the foundations of democracy. In the last three years alone, over 100 restrictive voting laws passed in 33 states, with hundreds more introduced in nearly every state in the country. These Republican bills push voter ID laws, target mail-in voting, limit ballot drop boxes, and restrict anything that might make voting more accessible.
“Unless Congress passes national standards, like the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act, to protect Americans’ freedom to vote in federal elections, these attacks will only intensify. We must ensure every voter is guaranteed the full protections that the Constitution promises.”
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