FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 29, 2024
Contact: Pablo DeJesús | info@uusj.org
Link: https://bit.ly/VRAA-BlessedLiberty
Voting Rights is a Blessed Liberty
Congress must pass the
John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act
Washington, D.C. – Today, the Senate reintroduced the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2023, offering its companion to H.R. 14. The Voting Rights Act had a long history of bipartisan support, and this bill merits similar bipartisan support. If passed, the measure will restore and strengthen the Voting Rights Act, repairing the damage done since Shelby County and Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee.
“We are deeply committed to a profound inclusionary American democracy as Unitarian Universalists. The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2023 moves us in this direction,” said Pablo DeJesús, executive director of Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice. “A decade ago, the Supreme Court eviscerated the Voting Rights Act. As a consequence, we have seen too many states make it harder to vote. Yet, we believe democracy works best for each of us as individuals when it covers all our communities in the blessings of liberty.
“This blessed liberty should be secured by peaceful means, at the ballot box, in free and fair elections. This blessed liberty should include all Americans, regardless of color, political party, or zip code. The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act will help ensure this blessed liberty, continued DeJesús.
“Voting Rights had bipartisan endorsement in the past, and this bill merits similar support. Today’s federal legislators should rise to the moment and reject an exclusionary American democracy. They should meet their obligations to a ‘more perfect union’: to establish justice, to ensure domestic tranquility, to promote the general welfare, and most especially to – ‘secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.’ We urge Congress to pass this essential legislation without delay,” concluded DeJesús,” concluded DeJesús.