In the nearly two years since the 2020 Election, extremist legislators across the United States have been discrediting our democracy to further their own undemocratic goals. In state after state, MAGA Republicans have justified anti-democratic laws by repeating falsehoods about the 2020 Election. In response to their anti-democratic agenda, we must enact bold pro-voter, anti-corruption, and pro-democracy legislation. By passing the John Lewis Act, we will restore the 1965 Voting Rights Act, ensure that voters of color are represented in Congress, and ban states from engaging in voter suppression. The VRAA will accomplish the latter by reestablishing so-called pre-clearance which allows our federal government to bar discriminatory states from implementing unfair election rules. In Florida, this will prevent the state government from weakening Black Floridians’ political power by splitting them into separate legislative districts, erecting unreasonable barriers to the voting booth, and disenfranchising them with unfair voter purges. To stop states from closing polling places to hurt voters of color, the John Lewis Act will block states from ending Sunday early voting which is frequently popular with Black voters. In addition, the legislation will enable the Department of Justice to prevent states from using unfair voter-ID laws to suppress disfavored groups. While enacting the John Lewis Act will greatly improve our electoral system, this legislation alone is insufficient for confronting the crisis of American democracy.
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