Washington, D.C. — Today at 1pm ET, standing on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, Rep. Terri Sewell will introduce H.R. 4, the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, a bill to restore the pre-clearance protections stripped from the Voting Rights Act, and strengthen voting rights across the country. The bill is expected to be voted on in the House next week.

Stephany Spaulding, Just Democracy Spokesperson and Founder of Truth and Conciliation, issued the following statement:

“H.R. 4 is essential legislation to ensure that the over 400 state-level voter suppression laws proposed around the country will be countered by federal law. But this bill can only stop the bleeding — it cannot repeal the dangerous suppression laws already passed in Georgia, Florida, and more. We need Congress to take comprehensive action to protect our country’s voting rights and pass the For the People Act, the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, and the Washington, D.C. Admissions Act — and we have to eliminate the Jim Crow filibuster to get it done. 

This fight for voting rights won’t be easy, but it is an existential turning point for the fate of our democracy — that’s why we’re marching in cities around the country in the March On for Voting Rights on August 28, to raise our voices and demand Congress take action. We’re marching in the spirit of Congressman John Lewis, Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and countless civil rights leaders who never gave up on the fight for voting rights — and neither will we.” 

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About Just Democracy

Just Democracy is an intersectional coalition with racial justice at its core — uplifting voices from all walks of American life that are too often left out of the conversation. The coalition is made up of over 40 Black and Brown-led organizations working across issue areas. It mobilizes thousands who know that advancing social and racial justice issues first requires bold structural democracy reform.

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