In February 1965, Martin Luther King Jr. penned a letter<\/a> from a Selma, Alabama, jail, which was revealed as a quarter-page advert in The New York Times<\/em>. In it, he wrote:<\/p>\n It simply takes a couple of minutes to e-mail your representatives and make a distinction with the REI Cooperative Action Network.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Take motion right this moment<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n <\/div>\n \u201cHave you ever been required to answer 100 questions on government \u2026 merely to vote?\u00a0 Have you ever stood in line with over a hundred others and, after waiting an entire day, seen less than ten given the qualifying test?<\/p>\n THIS IS SELMA, ALABAMA. THERE ARE MORE NEGROES IN JAIL WITH ME THAN THERE ARE ON THE VOTING ROLLS.\u201d<\/p>\n The New York Times, February 5, 1965<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Six months later, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which consultants think about the best piece of civil rights laws ever enacted. Sixty years later, that legislation\u2014which registered hundreds of thousands of voters and enfranchised traditionally marginalized communities who, in flip, elected extra numerous representatives\u2014has been systematically gutted and bought for elements<\/a>.<\/p>\n Just a few notable court docket choices weakened enforcement measures of the legislation, together with a 2013 swimsuit<\/a> (Shelby County v. Holder<\/em><\/a>) and one other in 2021 (Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee<\/em><\/a>). Last yr noticed the latest assault in opposition to the legislation: An Arkansas ruling in 2023 declared that residents shouldn’t have the correct to file lawsuits imposing the Voting Rights Act and that instances as an alternative need to be introduced by the federal authorities. In whole, 19 states have handed voter suppression legal guidelines since 2020, and greater than 400 comparable payments have been launched in 49 states.\u00a0<\/p>\n The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act<\/strong>, proposed laws that might restore and shield voting rights, is called for civil rights activist (and King\u2019s buddy and frequent collaborator) U.S. Rep. John Lewis. If handed, it could modernize the Voting Rights Act of 1965, safeguarding the democratic course of. Here\u2019s what it’s, the way it impacts us all and why it issues for the outside.<\/p>\n The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act protects everybody\u2019s proper to vote, prevents discrimination on the polls and calls for better transparency within the voting course of. It builds upon the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in three key methods:\u00a0<\/p>\n The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act handed within the House however failed within the Senate in 2021; it was reintroduced within the 118th Congress in September 2023.<\/p>\n The passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 resulted in a major enhance in voter registration\u2014inside months, a quarter of 1,000,000<\/a> Black voters had been registered, and total voter turnout elevated by as a lot as 19 proportion factors. Beyond people exercising their proper to vote, the Voting Rights Act led to shifts in insurance policies (like elevated funding for public colleges) due to extra correct and numerous illustration of the inhabitants. It additionally resulted in shifts to whole social gathering ideologies\u2014shifts that mirrored the needs of U.S. residents.\u00a0<\/p>\n In different phrases, the continued erosion of the Voting Rights Act doesn\u2019t simply threaten voter turnout\u2014it undermines our march towards a very consultant democracy. Since the 2013 Shelby County <\/em>choice weakened the act\u2019s enforcement measures, communities have seen the elimination of polling locations on faculty campuses, a purge of voters from the rolls with out warning, intense partisan gerrymandering and voter ID legal guidelines that make voting harder for a lot of. When Americans can\u2019t vote, our nation fails to mirror residents\u2019 values and elected leaders typically don\u2019t share residents\u2019 issues.<\/p>\n The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act combats makes an attempt to disenfranchise all folks, particularly communities of shade, the aged, low-income people and the LGBTQ+ neighborhood. As Human Rights Campaign president Kelley Robinson emphasised in a press release supporting the act<\/a>, \u201cThe foundation of our democracy rests on making sure that everyone\u2014everyone\u2014has access to the ballot box.\u201d<\/p>\n The majority of locations the place Americans recreate are public, that means they’re created, managed and ruled by public businesses and funded with public {dollars}, says REI Cooperative Action Network<\/a> supervisor Alicia Harvie. Only those that vote can elect representatives who will fund these businesses and prioritize the problems dealing with out of doors areas and communities.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not simply representatives on the poll, both: Issues associated to the outside are sometimes put to public measure. In any given yr, voters could instantly approve billions of {dollars} in park funding, path infrastructure and climate-related insurance policies that have an effect on the well being of our lands, waters and extra. By voting, we\u2019re letting our representatives know what we care about\u2014and the form of world we need to dwell in.<\/p>\n That can\u2019t occur if Americans are denied the correct to vote. Every election is an opportunity for a greater world and a more healthy atmosphere\u2014however provided that that election is free and honest.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/15zine-child-v4\/banners\/action-network\/images\/headline-p-500-v2.png)
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What is the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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How does the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act have an effect on us all?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
How does the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act have an effect on the outside?<\/strong><\/h2>\n