Legislation

The Voting Rights Advancement Act (VRAA)

We must restore the protections of the Voting Rights Act and eliminate barriers to the ballot box.

The Voting Rights Act (VRA), one of our nation’s proudest civil rights achievements, used to protect voters from targeted voter suppression tactics. Under the VRA, states and counties with a history of discrimination had to get federal approval for new voting laws—which stopped thousands of dangerous provisions from taking effect.

But in its 2013 Shelby County v. Holder decision, the Supreme Court gutted that requirement, giving politicians the green light to attack voters’ rights and pass new laws that never would have stood up to review.

Since then, partisan politicians have taken advantage, adding new voting restrictions like strict voter ID requirements, rollbacks of early and mail-in voting, and even purges of eligible voters from the voter rolls. These unjust, racist, and anti-voter measures need to be stopped—which means we must restore the VRA’s preclearance requirements for new voting laws.

Common Cause supports the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, named for the civil rights hero who helped pass the original VRA into law. This bill would restore this critical review process and protect every voters’ right to be heard in our democracy.

Every eligible American should be able to cast their ballot on Election Day, free from obstruction or intimidation. But without the protections of the VRA, voters must overcome discriminatory laws, needless barriers, and partisan dirty tricks just to be heard in our democracy.

Congressman John Lewis dedicated his life to fighting inequality wherever he saw it—in our justice system, voting polls, and beyond. The best way to honor his legacy—and protect every voters’ rights—is by passing this groundbreaking voting rights bill into law.

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Press

Protections of the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act Needed Now More than Ever

Press Release

Protections of the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act Needed Now More than Ever

The federal protections of the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act are critically important for Congress to pass at a moment in our history when the freedom to vote is under attack in our nation. A bedrock of our democracy, the freedom to vote has been under sustained assault since the 2020 election with dozens of anti-voter laws passed in states all across the country to make it harder for Americans – particularly in Black and brown communities - to have a say in choosing their elected leaders.

John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act Will Protect Every American’s Freedom to Vote

Press Release

John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act Will Protect Every American’s Freedom to Vote

Americans expect and deserve free and fair elections. The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act will protect the freedom to vote of every American at a time when voting rights are once again under attack in many parts of our nation. The legislation, reintroduced today in the House of Representatives, will repair much of the damage done to the Voting Rights Act a decade ago by the Supreme Court in its Shelby County v. Holder decision and subsequent rulings.

Associated Press: Supreme Court tossed out heart of Voting Rights Act a decade ago, prompting wave of new voting rules

News Clip

Associated Press: Supreme Court tossed out heart of Voting Rights Act a decade ago, prompting wave of new voting rules

Voting rights groups say that does not mean voting is easy, and they have been responding to the restrictions with fresh strategies. In Georgia, for instance, Common Cause set up mobile printing stations across the state so voters could comply with new voter registration rules that require an ink signature on a printed form.

“It’s only through the work of all these communities and groups on the ground that voters have access,” said Sylvia Albert, the group’s national director of voting and elections. “But doing this...

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