Last week, Rep. Terry Sewell of Alabama introduced the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would restore and modernize the protections included in the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Sewell’s bill would help prevent voter suppression, ensuring every voter has access to the ballot box.
“The freedom to vote is the very foundation of our democracy,” said AFSCME President Lee Saunders, who urged Congress to pass the bill. “John Lewis knew this, and that’s why he and so many civil rights heroes put their lives on the line to secure passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965.”
Saunders also emphasized why it’s urgent to pass the bill now. Unelected billionaires are attempting to amass more power and wealth. At the same time, state legislatures have taken radical action to suppress the votes of people of color, voters with disabilities, young people, and members of other historically underrepresented groups.
Saunders added, “This bill simply ensures that anyone who can vote and wants to vote is able to easily cast their ballot. That’s something regardless of party lines we should all proudly stand behind. We call on all freedom-loving members of Congress to act swiftly and pass this bill.”
Sewell introduced the bill just before the 60th anniversary of Bloody Sunday and the historic Selma to Montgomery March, when civil rights activists, including Lewis, were beaten by Alabama state troopers when crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Lewis went on to become a U.S. congressman from Georgia and served in that role until his death in 2020.
AFSCME has been fighting for the right to vote since before the enactment of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. We have opposed voter suppression in whatever form it takes.