Rep. Peters Honors Voting Rights Act Anniversary; Calls for Action on Needed Fix to Ensure Voting Rights

SAN DIEGO, CA – Today, Congressman Scott Peters (CA-52) released the following statement honoring the 49th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, which was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson in 1965, and continued his calls for action on legislation to fix the provisions undone last year by the Supreme Court:

“Among our most basic, sacred rights as Americans is the right to vote,” Rep. Peters said. “There should be universal, bipartisan agreement that voting should be a discrimination-free process, not one fraught with intimidation or disenfranchisement. I am proud to honor the original Voting Rights Act and will continue to call on Speaker Boehner to schedule a vote on the needed Voting Rights Amendment Act that I support – it would pass if put on the floor for a vote.”

Background on the “Voting Rights Amendment Act”

H.R. 3899, the “Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2014,” was introduced on January 16, 2014, and comes as a response to last year’s Supreme Court decision in the Shelby County v. Holder case that undid several provisions of the original Voting Rights Act of 1965. This year’s legislation represents a bipartisan deal that creates a new coverage formula for determining if discrimination has occurred, requires increased transparency on late changes in the voting process like changed polling locations, and clarifies the ability of those seeking an injunction on the basis of voter discrimination.

Congressman Peters became a cosponsor of H.R. 3899 on February 6, 2014. The bill currently has 171 cosponsors, including 11 Republicans and 160 Democrats.

Full text of the legislation can be accessed here and a section-by-section description of the bill can be read here.

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