Voting Rights Act

Floor Speech

Ms. KELLY of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to right a shameful wrong committed by the Supreme Court and update the Voting Rights Act to restore an essential protection against voter discrimination.

By gutting the Voting Rights Act, the Court greatly dishonored those who fought and died to protect the rights of the disenfranchised, who continue to face pervasive voting discrimination. Recent efforts in parts of the country to impose voter ID laws, to limit access to early voting and to gerrymander districts to hinder the minority vote serve as irrefutable proof that voter discrimination remains a real threat to our democracy. The Voting Rights Act prevented discrimination in these cases, something it can't do as it exists now.

We must act immediately to fix the gaping hole in this vital protection of the right to vote. Each day that passes without a strong Voting Rights Act is another day justice is deferred. We have a moral imperative to act swiftly in a bipartisan manner to get this done. I urge my colleagues to act now.

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