Press Releases

NATIONAL ACTION NETWORK, REVEREND AL SHARPTON: VOTING RIGHTS ADVANCEMENT ACT WILL RESTORE VITAL CIVIL RIGHTS PROTECTIONS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
National Action Network
June 24, 2015

NATIONAL ACTION NETWORK, REVEREND AL SHARPTON: VOTING RIGHTS ADVANCEMENT ACT WILL RESTORE VITAL CIVIL RIGHTS PROTECTIONS
Congress must restore Voting Rights Act protections before 2016 election to fight against modern-day voter discrimination

NEW YORK – Rev. Al Sharpton, president and founder of National Action Network, issued the following statement applauding the introduction of the Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2015 in the House and Senate:

“I applaud those members of Congress who came together today to introduce the Voting Rights Advancement Act. The Voting Rights Advancement Act addresses the modern-day assault on the right to vote that impacts a broad cross section of American voters, including people of color, young people, veterans and people with disabilities, who too often need these protections.

“Unfortunately, voting discrimination continues to undermine the fundamental rights of millions of Americans to have their voices heard at the ballot box. Discrimination is not unique to one region or one state, it reaches all parts of our great country. In the two years since the Supreme Court struck down key enforcement provisions of the Voting Rights Act, American voters have been subject to more restrictive voting laws than at any other time in the last 50 years.

“If we don’t act now, the 2016 election will be the first time in 50 years that voters will not have the full protections guaranteed by the Voting Rights Act. As the leading democracy in the world, voting should be free, fair and accessible to all. The Voting Rights Advancement Act will help achieve these goals and I urge Congress to vote on it without delay.”