{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://gwenmoore.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=4906", "Congresswoman Gwen Moore Votes to Pass H.R. 4, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021", "2021-08-24", "2021", "2021-08", "Democrat", "House", "WI", "Gwen Moore", "M001160", "gwenmoore.house.gov", "gwenmoore", "https://gwenmoore.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx?DocumentTypeID=27", "scraper", "Today, Congresswoman Gwen Moore voted to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021, which restores the ability of the federal government to stop voter suppression practices targeting minority citizens under the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Congresswoman Gwen Moore released the following statement:\n\n\u201cThe right to vote is fundamental to our democracy. John Lewis, among others, shed blood on the Edmund Pettus Bridge for this crucial right. Since the Supreme Court\u2019s 2013 Shelby v. Holder decision and a subsequent 2021 decision gutted this keystone law, GOP state legislators have pushed forward measures that builds barriers to the ballot box, disproportionately hurting Americans of color, including here in Wisconsin.\n\nI spoke out and fought strongly against efforts, by then Gov. Scott Walker to implement a voter ID bill in Wisconsin because of concerns that they would disproportionately affect communities of color and make it harder for those votes to exercise this critical civil right as a number of federal courts have noted.\n\nAs I have noted before, the threat to voting rights today, while subtle, is as pernicious as it was during the civil rights era. Over the course of 13 hearings in two Congresses, including six just this year alone, Congressional committees have built a substantial record demonstrating the continuing need to help vulnerable communities against a range of voter suppression practices.\n\nAfter the 2020 election, state lawmakers have been working overtime to pass legislation that deny Americans access to the ballot box. This year alone, at least 18 states have enacted 30 bills that create hurdles to voting.\n\nNow, more than ever, we need to restore the power of the Voting Rights Act, protect the right to vote and honor the legacy of John Lewis.\u201d\n\nThe John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021 would create a new preclearance coverage formula that looks at repeated voting rights violations by a jurisdiction in the preceding 25 years.\n\nStates and political subdivisions that qualify for preclearance under the new formula will be covered for a period of 10 years. If they have a clean record during that time, the bill provides a process for them to be extracted from coverage.\n\nThe bill also importantly would apply a nationwide preclearance requirement for jurisdictions that engage in certain kinds of proposed changes to voting rules, such as the following:\n\nThe imposition of certain stricter voter ID requirements.\n\nReductions in polling locations or polling hours.\n\nReductions in the availability of non-English language voting materials relative to materials in English.\n\nChanges to procedures regarding maintenance of voter registration lists.\n\nBackground\n\nThe Voting Rights Act of 1965 is one of the most consequential laws Congress has ever enacted. As Supreme Court Associate Justice Elena Kagan pointed out, \u201cThe Voting Rights Act of 1965 is an extraordinary law. Rarely has a statute required so much sacrifice to ensure its passage. Never has a statute done more to advance the nation\u2019s highest ideals. And few laws are more vital in the current moment.\u201d1\n\n\u2022 Tragically, in recent years, the Supreme Court has undermined the original Voting Rights Act of 1965 with two damaging decisions:\n\nShelby County v. Holder (2013): This decision effectively gutted the Voting Rights Act\u2019s most important enforcement mechanism \u2013 its Section 5 preclearance provision. Specifically, the decision struck down the formula contained in Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act. That formula determined which states and localities should be subject to preclearance\u2014striking down Section 4(b) effectively rendered the law\u2019s preclearance provision inoperative.1\n\nBrnovich v. DNC (2021): This decision substantially curtailed the scope of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, making it significantly more difficult for parties to challenge voting laws that result in the denial or abridgment of the right to vote on account of race, color, or language-minority status.1", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:11:17Z"]], "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://gwenmoore.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=4906"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8691819384694099, "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"}