Skip to main content

Congressman Veasey Renews America’s Promise to Protect Voting Rights

June 25, 2015

Rep. Veasey serves as an original co-sponsor for the Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today,Congressman Marc Veasey, TX-33, released the following statement as he joins Rep. John Lewis, Rep. Terri Sewell, Rep. Judy Chu, and Rep. Linda Sanchez as an original co-sponsor of the Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2015:

"Two years ago today, the Supreme Court turned back the clock when it ruled that Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act was unconstitutional and opened the door for new laws that discriminate against African-American, Hispanics, and other minority citizens. The Court has left it to Congress to create a new formula for determining which states and other jurisdictions should be covered under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act to ensure protection against discrimination.

There is no question that we must act now. Just hours following the Supreme Court ruling two years ago, states across the country, including my home state of Texas, immediately began enforcing laws that courts had already found discriminated against minority citizens. The Supreme Court ruling set in motion what many feared: the subjection of minorities and low-income Americans to unfair, punitive barriers preventing them from exercising their most basic right as American citizens.

In my home state of Texas, we are still plagued by intentionally discriminatory tactics that suppress minorities for political gain. As a plaintiff in the Texas redistricting lawsuit, Perry v. Perez, and as the lead plaintiff in the suit challenging the discriminatory Texas Voter ID law, Veasey v. Perry, I will continue the fight to protect voting rights of all Americans in our nation.

While we await judicial rulings, my work here in Congress remains clear: to represent and defend the people in District 33, Texas and across our nation who are subject to gratuitous attacks on their constitutional rights.

The bill we offer today will restore rights and protections taken away by the Supreme Court's actions two years ago. I am proud to join colleagues Rep. John Lewis, Rep. Terri Sewell, Rep. Judy Chu, and Rep. Linda Sanchez as an original co-sponsor of the Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2015. Together, our country can ensure that future generations of citizens are freed from barriers designed to stop them from fully participating in our nation's democracy. I refuse to turn back the clock on voting rights protections. The time to restore the American people's faith in our democratic system is now."

###