{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://allred.house.gov/media/press-releases/allred-supports-passage-voting-rights-advancement-act", "Allred Supports Passage of Voting Rights Advancement Act", "2019-12-06", "2019", "2019-12", "Democrat", "House", "TX", "Colin Allred", "A000376", "allred.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C.  Congressman Colin Allred (TX-32) today voted to pass the Voting Rights Advancement Act, H.R. 4. This bill seeks to protect the right to vote, and takes aim at voter suppression tactics by restoring Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, which was weakened by the 2013 Shelby vs. Holder Supreme Court decision. The bill develops a process to determine which states and localities with a recent history of voting rights violations over the last 25 years must preclear election changes with the Department of Justice. Allred is an original cosponsor of the measure.\nAs a voting rights attorney, I have seen the many barriers that are in the way of ordinary folks having their voices heard, said Allred. I am proud to support this bill which seeks to protect that sacred right to vote for everyone by restoring critical safeguards in the Voting Rights Act. Our nation is at its best when all our citizens can get access to the ballot box, and this bill works to ensure we root out discrimination and voter suppression tactics in our elections.\nBackground on the Voting Rights Advancement Act:\nUntil the 2013 Shelby County decision, Texas was required to preclear election law changes with the Department of Justice. The Voting Rights Advancement Act requires a nationwide, practice-based preclearance for known discriminatory practices, including the creation of at-large districts, inadequate multilingual voting materials, and cuts to polling places. The bill increases transparency by requiring reasonable public notice for voting changes. It also allows the U.S. Attorney General authority to request federal observers to be present anywhere in the country where a serious threat to voter access and fair elections exists.\nAn extensive review by the House Judiciary Committee found that, since the Shelby County decision in 2013, at least 23 states, including Texas, have enacted newly restrictive statewide voting laws, which have been shown to have a disproportionate impact on communities of color and language-minority communities. These suppressive voting laws include restrictions such as:\n Strict voter identification laws;\n\tVoter registration barriers such as requiring documentary proof of citizenship;\n\tUnfairly purging voters from rolls;\n\tCurtailing of early voting hours; and\n\tMoving or eliminating polling places.\n This bill is supported by more than 60 national organizations, including the NAACP, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, NALEO Educational Fund, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Native American Rights Fund, League of Women Voters of the United States, and many more.\nClick here for a fact sheet on the bill: Voting Rights Advancement Act One Pager.pdf\n  \n\t\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://allred.house.gov/media/press-releases/allred-supports-passage-voting-rights-advancement-act"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.8763719126582146, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}