60 years after the Voting Rights Act, the fight continues

The right to vote without obstruction is one of the fundamental rights that gives us a voice in the decisions that affect our lives.

That is why the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965, and the measures added when it was reauthorized ten years later, marked a milestone for the full civic participation of millions of people in the United States.

On the eve of the 60th anniversary of the law’s passage, we face circumstances that threaten to undermine its most important achievements. Since the 2013 Supreme Court decision that dismantled the preclearance provision of the law, which required states with a history of discrimination to get federal approval before making changes to voting, states have passed 115 laws that make it harder to vote, measures that hit black, Latino and other voters of color the hardest.

If we add to this measures such as the purification of electoral lists, the closure of voting centers in non-white neighborhoods or the lack of multilingual ballots, we add up to a concerted effort to make voting more difficult in our communities.

That’s why LatinoJustice PRLDEF has joined numerous community and civil rights organizations across the country to support the passage of the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Promotion Act, recently reintroduced in the Senate of the United States. This bill would restore key protections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and strengthen provisions covering issues such as language access.

Protecting and expanding the right to vote for Latinos and other communities excluded from the democratic process has been a vital part of LatinoJustice’s work since its origins as the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, founded just a few years after the enactment of the Voting Rights Act.

And we know we can fight – and win – to counter attempts to exclude our communities from the polls. We have fought unfair redistricting over five decennial cycles and continue to aggressively push for maps that allow our communities to elect the people they believe will represent their interests.

While federal protections have been weakened, we have made real progress at the state level, demonstrating what strong and inclusive election laws can look like in practice.

For example, we help approve New York Voting Rights Law (NYVRA) in 2022. It is one of the strongest voting rights laws in the country. It protects against discrimination, improves access for non-English speaking voters, and increases transparency in the management of elections and the drawing of districts. We also support a similar law passed in Connecticut in 2023, and this year we successfully fought to secure its full funding. We are also working to pass similar laws in several other states.

The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would restore preclearance, requiring jurisdictions with a recent history of voting rights violations to demonstrate that any new changes will not discriminate. It would also create stricter rules to stop discriminatory voter roll purges, polling place closures and language access failures.

At LatinoJustice, we believe that voting is more than a right; It is the way our communities build power and create change. That’s why we will continue to fight in the courts, in legislatures, and alongside our communities to ensure that all eligible voters can cast their ballot, in any language, without barriers or fear.

Passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act is a way to honor the work of those who came before us and ensure a more inclusive democracy for future generations.

Now is the time for Congress to act. Our future depends on it.

Isabelle C. Muhlbauer is the National Voting Rights Advocacy Manager at LatinoJustice PRLDEF.