{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://sewell.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congresswoman-sewell-responds-alabama-ruling-voter-registration", "Congresswoman Sewell Responds to Alabama Ruling on Voter Registration Requiring Proof of Citizenship", "2016-07-01", "2016", "2016-07", "Democrat", "House", "AL", "Terri Sewell", "S001185", "sewell.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.\u2014Today, Congresswoman Terri Sewell (AL-07) issued the following statement in response to \u00a0U.S. District Judge Richard Leon\u2019s refusal to issue a temporary injunction to overturn the unauthorized action by \u00a0Brian Newby, the executive director of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, \u00a0allowing a U.S. elections official to change proof-of-citizenship requirements on the federal voting registration form and unlawfully burdening potential voters in Alabama, Kansas, and Georgia and without public notice:\n\u201cToday\u2019s ruling marks another example of restrictive efforts to suppress the vote of eligible voters under the guise of circumventing voter fraud. Alabama has a storied history of voter suppression, and this ruling underscores the importance of the need for federal preclearance for changes to voting practices and procedures that could have a discriminatory impact.\n\u201cAs the 2016 Presidential Election cycle continues, it is critically important that we recognize and defend against any attempts to create modern day barriers to the ballot box that disenfranchise the most vulnerable members of our community.\u00a0 Instead of making voting more difficult, we should be working to ensure that every American is able to exercise their constitutionally protected right.\n\u201cI will\u00a0continue to call upon Congress to pass and enact meaningful legislation that restores key protections under the Voting Rights Act. All who believe in our great democracy should fight to ensure a fair and inclusive election process for all.\u201d\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://sewell.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congresswoman-sewell-responds-alabama-ruling-voter-registration"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.6117870584130287, "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"}