{"id":1734,"date":"2025-01-08T14:48:49","date_gmt":"2025-01-08T21:48:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/colorado\/?post_type=press&#038;p=1734"},"modified":"2025-07-30T10:23:44","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T16:23:44","slug":"colorado-advocates-introduce-sweeping-voting-rights-bill-to-safeguard-democracy","status":"publish","type":"press","link":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/colorado\/press\/colorado-advocates-introduce-sweeping-voting-rights-bill-to-safeguard-democracy\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado Advocates Introduce Sweeping Voting Rights Bill to Safeguard Democracy"},"template":"","class_list":["post-1734","press","type-press","status-publish","hentry","press_type-press-release"],"acf":{"details":{"summary":"The Colorado Voting Rights Act will protect and expand state voting rights","featured_image":"","press_type":147,"authors":"","related_issues":[417],"related_work":false,"location":2},"sidebar":{"helper_enable_sidebar":false,"helper_media_contact":{"heading":"Media Contact","manually_enter_person":false,"person":"","name":"","role":"","phone":"","email":""},"helper_links_downloads":{"heading":"Links & Downloads","links":null}},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_wysiwyg":{"content":"<h4 style=\"text-align: center;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Colorado Voting Rights Act will protect and expand state voting rights<\/span><\/i><\/h4>\r\n<b>DENVER <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2013 The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/leg.colorado.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/2025A\/bills\/2025a_001_01.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Colorado Voting Rights Act<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, sponsored by Senadora Julie Gonzales, Assistant Majority Leader Jennifer Bacon, and Representative Junie Joseph, was introduced today in the Colorado Senate to safeguard and expand upon voter protections in the federal Voting Rights Act (VRA). A broad coalition of civil rights and civil engagement organizations support the bill.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2022, the Colorado General Assembly adopted a resolution urging Congress to respond to attacks on Americans\u2019 right to vote by strengthening the VRA. Both advocates and state legislators assert that Colorado doesn\u2019t need to wait for a Congress that has failed to act \u2014 it can take action now.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Passing the Colorado Voting Rights Act will help insulate the state from future voting rights attacks from the U.S. Supreme Court or federal government. It will also help build a more equitable democracy by confronting practices that impair the ability to fairly participate in local elections.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cOur democracy cannot wait. We must safeguard our institutions from the growing existential threats that lie ahead,\u201d said <\/span><b>Senadora Julie Gonzales.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u201cThe Colorado Voting Rights Act meets this critical moment, securing Coloradans' right to vote and ensuring equal and equitable access to the ballot for all. Should Colorado pass this legislation, it would set the standard for other states to follow suit in protecting the right to vote.\u201d<\/span>\r\n\r\n<b>The Colorado Voting Rights Act (COVRA) will:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Strengthen voter protections:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> COVRA will reinforce and build upon the federal Voting Rights Act by strengthening protections for communities of color, creating new protections for LGBTQ+ voters, and ensuring equal protections for all voters.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Safeguard Colorado\u2019s election system:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> COVRA will protect Colorado voters' access to the ballot by shielding the state from the dismantling of the federal voting rights protections, federal and state administration changes, and any future attempts to undermine fair and accessible elections.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Advance equity and fair representation: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The bill requires local governments to ensure communities of color have an equal say in who represents them. COVRA sets standards local governments can follow to ensure all community members have their fair share of electoral power.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Expand access:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The bill expands access to multilingual ballots in local elections, further strengthens voting access on tribal lands, and ensures voters with disabilities who live in residential facilities are provided nonpartisan information about their right to vote.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Create a strong legal framework in state courts: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With federal courts often hostile to challenges against discriminatory practices, COVRA equips Colorado to address such issues in state courts. It empowers the Colorado Attorney General and civil rights groups to enforce voting rights when they are violated, offering voters stronger legal recourse.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Cement Colorado as a democracy leader: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Colorado already leads the nation in secure and accessible elections. Passing COVRA in 2025 will keep our state at the forefront of democracy by dismantling voting barriers for historically disenfranchised communities, and setting a standard for other states to follow.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This landmark legislation is championed by a coalition of 30+ community-based organizations, led by Colorado Common Cause, ACLU of Colorado, Mi Familia Vota of Colorado, the League of Women Voters of Colorado, Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition (CCJRC), Colorado Black Women for Political Action, State Innovation Exchange (SiX), Disability Law Colorado, and the Sam Cary Bar Association.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cAs voting rights at the federal level face unprecedented threats, Colorado can pave a different path forward,\u201d the <\/span><b>coalition <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">said in a statement. \u201cDespite significant progress, systemic discrimination and voting barriers persist today. By enshrining voting rights protections into state law, the Colorado Voting Rights Act follows the proud legacy of abolitionist and civil rights leaders who fought for the equal right to vote for Black communities and other communities of color. If passed, this legislation will safeguard Colorado\u2019s democracy for all voters for generations to come.\u201d<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For the full bill text of the Colorado Voting Rights Act, click <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/leg.colorado.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/2025A\/bills\/2025a_001_01.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">here<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span>"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_add_component","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_add_component":null},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_work","_acfe_flexible_toggle":"","component_work":{"heading":"Work","manually_curate":false,"work":null}}]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.6 (Yoast SEO v27.1.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Colorado Advocates Introduce Sweeping Voting Rights Bill to Safeguard Democracy - Common Cause Colorado<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/colorado\/press\/colorado-advocates-introduce-sweeping-voting-rights-bill-to-safeguard-democracy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Colorado Advocates Introduce Sweeping Voting Rights Bill to Safeguard Democracy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/colorado\/press\/colorado-advocates-introduce-sweeping-voting-rights-bill-to-safeguard-democracy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Common Cause Colorado\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-30T16:23:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/colorado\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/common-cause-share-image.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/colorado\/press\/colorado-advocates-introduce-sweeping-voting-rights-bill-to-safeguard-democracy\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/colorado\/press\/colorado-advocates-introduce-sweeping-voting-rights-bill-to-safeguard-democracy\/\",\"name\":\"Colorado Advocates Introduce Sweeping Voting Rights Bill to Safeguard Democracy - Common Cause Colorado\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/colorado\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-08T21:48:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-30T16:23:44+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/colorado\/press\/colorado-advocates-introduce-sweeping-voting-rights-bill-to-safeguard-democracy\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/colorado\/press\/colorado-advocates-introduce-sweeping-voting-rights-bill-to-safeguard-democracy\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/colorado\/press\/colorado-advocates-introduce-sweeping-voting-rights-bill-to-safeguard-democracy\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/colorado\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Colorado Advocates Introduce Sweeping Voting Rights Bill to Safeguard Democracy\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/colorado\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/colorado\/\",\"name\":\"Common Cause Colorado\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/colorado\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Colorado Advocates Introduce Sweeping Voting Rights Bill to Safeguard Democracy - Common Cause Colorado","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/colorado\/press\/colorado-advocates-introduce-sweeping-voting-rights-bill-to-safeguard-democracy\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Colorado Advocates Introduce Sweeping Voting Rights Bill to Safeguard Democracy","og_url":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/colorado\/press\/colorado-advocates-introduce-sweeping-voting-rights-bill-to-safeguard-democracy\/","og_site_name":"Common Cause Colorado","article_modified_time":"2025-07-30T16:23:44+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/colorado\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/common-cause-share-image.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/colorado\/press\/colorado-advocates-introduce-sweeping-voting-rights-bill-to-safeguard-democracy\/","url":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/colorado\/press\/colorado-advocates-introduce-sweeping-voting-rights-bill-to-safeguard-democracy\/","name":"Colorado Advocates Introduce Sweeping Voting Rights Bill to Safeguard Democracy - Common Cause Colorado","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/colorado\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-01-08T21:48:49+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-30T16:23:44+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/colorado\/press\/colorado-advocates-introduce-sweeping-voting-rights-bill-to-safeguard-democracy\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/colorado\/press\/colorado-advocates-introduce-sweeping-voting-rights-bill-to-safeguard-democracy\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/colorado\/press\/colorado-advocates-introduce-sweeping-voting-rights-bill-to-safeguard-democracy\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/colorado\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Colorado Advocates Introduce Sweeping Voting Rights Bill to Safeguard Democracy"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/colorado\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/colorado\/","name":"Common Cause Colorado","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/colorado\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Common Cause Colorado","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/colorado","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/colorado\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press\/1734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/colorado\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/colorado\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/press"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/colorado\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press\/1734\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2009,"href":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/colorado\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press\/1734\/revisions\/2009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/colorado\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}