House of Representatives Passes Voting Rights Bill, HR 4

For Immediate Release
December 6, 2019

Statement from Wendy Fields, Executive Director, Democracy Initiative

Today’s House passage of H.R. 4, the Voting Rights Advancement Act (VRAA), is an important victory on the road to defeating the rise of voter suppression and ensuring that all Americans, especially Black and Brown and other marginalized people, can take their rightful place at the governing table and have a meaningful voice in decision-making that affects their lives.

Despite deliberate, coordinated voter suppression, designed to disenfranchise millions of Americans, and bankrolled by corporate interests and the wealthy few, the American people are demanding democracy and beginning to turn the tide. In 2018, voters in Michigan, Missouri, Maryland and Florida overwhelmingly passed reform packages that make voting secure and accessible; make districts fairer and less beholden to partisan interference; and curb the influence of the wealthy and privileged elite in our political process. That momentum continues in 2019, with House passage of HR 4 today and HR 1 in March along with numerous new state reforms including Automatic Voter Registration (AVR) in Maine, expansion of AVR in Colorado; Vote By Mail in Hawaii; voting rights restoration victories in Nevada and New Hampshire.

Together with our 72 partner organizations representing 45 million Americans, we commend the House for taking us another step closer to delivering on the promise of American democracy. And we call on the Senate to stop being a legislative graveyard and get on with doing the people’s business.

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Contact
Jennifer Lamson: (206) 369–3122
jlamson@democracyinitiative.org