The Leadership Conference, Stand Up America Call for Passage of VRAA and Election Assistance Funding
Groups Press for Action on Anniversary of Shelby County v. Holder
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On the anniversary today of the Shelby County v. Holder case through which the U.S. Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and upended decades of progress, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights President and CEO Vanita Gupta and Stand Up America Founder and President Sean Eldridge issued the following joint statement:
“Since a partisan Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act of 1965, discriminatory voting policies have dramatically worsened across our country, creating barriers to the ballot for millions of Americans, particularly for voters of color, and undermining the bedrock of our democracy.
“Today, we call on the Senate to join the House by immediately passing the HEROES Act to provide election officials the critical resources they need to ensure we have safe, fair, and accessible elections in November. States and localities continue to face tremendous strains on their budgets, and when cuts are made, it is often communities of color that suffer the most. Resources to conduct voting by mail are among the most urgent, as states need time to implement changes successfully.
“Congress must also pass the Voting Rights Advancement Act to reverse the damage done by the Roberts Court and prevent voter discrimination and barriers to the ballot impacting communities of color. It is far past time to end the racist, discriminatory practices sanctioned by Shelby County v. Holder—from strict photo ID laws to voter purges to the shuttering of thousands of polling places.”
The two groups launched a week of action mobilizing constituents to demand that the Senate immediately pass the HEROES Act and allocate an additional $3.6 billion in election assistance funding for states to implement reforms that ensure voting is safe, secure, and accessible amid the pandemic.
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PRESS CONTACTS:
Kiren Marshall, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
marshall@civilrights.org
Ryan Thomas, Stand Up America
ryan@standupamerica.com