Common Cause Statement on Introduction of New Voting Rights Act

This bipartisan update of the Voting Rights Act goes a long way toward ensuring that every citizen has a clear path to the ballot box,” said Karen Hobert Flynn, Common Cause’s senior vice president for strategy and programs. “We commend Congressmen Sensenbrenner, Conyers, and Lewis, Sen. Leahy, and the rest of the bill’s co-sponsors for their steadfast leadership and encourage Speaker Boehner and Majority Leader Cantor to clear the bill’s path to passage within the next six months so that all eligible voters can have their voices heard in the 2014 election.

The right to vote is fundamental to our democracy. Every citizen has a stake in seeing that right protected and strengthened. Originally proposed and signed by a Democratic President, the Voting Rights Act has been reauthorized with overwhelming bipartisan majorities and signed into law by Republican Presidents each time. Common Cause helped pass those reauthorizations, and we will continue to fight for a modernized Voting Rights Act and other reforms that help promote voter turnout.”

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