Blumenthal Urges Passage of John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to Honor Legacy of Civil Rights Hero

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) spoke on the Senate Floor today to recognize the legacy of the Honorable John Lewis and call for the passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. With seventeen states having passed twenty-eight laws to restrict access to the ballot box this year alone, Blumenthal urged Congress to protect the very bedrock of our nation – our democracy and the fundamental right to vote.

“This assault on the right to vote, this effort to suppress men and women who by law should have that right, is purposeful, relentless, unremitting, and it is supported unfortunately by elected officials across the country,” said Blumenthal. “…the voting rights of this nation are at stake because what we're seeing is a deliberate and systematic attempt to make it harder and more difficult to register to vote – and particularly for people of color to have this right. It is an attempt to subvert our democracy and attack the lifeblood of our nation.”

Blumenthal also discussed the harmful impact that recent Supreme Court decisions have had on weakening the Voting Rights Act. Last week, as Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on the Constitution, Blumenthal held a hearing titled, “Restoring the Voting Rights Act after Brnovich and Shelby County.”

“Since Shelby County in 2013, approximately 21,000 polling places nationwide serving the people of the United States on Election Day have been eliminated,” Blumenthal continued. “Millions of voters have been purged from the voter rolls. This year alone, seventeen states have passed twenty-eight laws to restrict voting rights.”

In closing, Blumenthal called Lewis, “a civil rights hero, an icon, a trailblazer, a model, and a mentor to so many of us,” and urged Congress to honor his legacy with action. “In memory of what he said, but more in tribute to the ideals of democracy that he advanced by his actions, we should stand up to this assault on our democracy and pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. There is no time to waste.”

The full transcript of Blumenthal's remarks is copied below.

There is a reason, Mr. President, that the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act bears his name, and the reason is that John Lewis was truly a civil rights hero, an icon, a trailblazer, a model, and a mentor to so many of us. Not because of what he said, but because of what he did. In marching across the Edmund Pettus Bridge where he was beaten bloody in leading those civil rights activists. In fighting for equality and justice here in the halls of Congress. He set a model of courageous public service that inspires us today.

It has inspired voting rights since 1965, when those acts of courage led the Congress to adopt that Voting Rights Act of 1965. It was bipartisan then. It has been a bipartisan cause since then. In fact, most recently reauthorized in 2006 by an overwhelming bipartisan vote. There should be nothing partisan about voting rights, which go to the core of our democracy. They are the lifeblood of our democracy, as we know better or as well as anyone in this chamber, because we know that we act here with authority by the consent of the governed as the founders said. We govern by the consent of the people who elect us, hopefully fairly.

And that is the reason, that we need, now, that John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, because the United States Supreme Court in two decisions – Shelby County v. Holder and Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee – has in effect eviscerated, more bluntly gutted, two key sections –  5 and 2 – of that Voting Rights Act. And now we have the opportunity, in fact we have the obligation to make sure that the memory and the cause of John Lewis in advancing voting rights is upheld. We have that obligation not for ourselves but for the country, which is why John Lewis fought so hard and so well.

Today state legislatures are taking advantage of the gaps and defects opened by those two Supreme Court decisions to attack America’s right to vote. What we're seeing is the greatest assault on voting rights in the history of this country, maybe with the exception of Jim Crow. Now, I know some have called these laws a second Jim Crow. It may be the son of Jim Crow or the nephew or niece of Jim Crow, but the goal is the same – suppression of voting rights, discriminating against individuals who have that right to vote.

Last week I chaired a hearing in the Constitution Subcommittee on the impact of these two Supreme Court decisions on voting rights, and what we heard from the witnesses appearing there was nothing less than a call to action to protect our democracy and live up to America’s founding ideal. We heard from men and women who have been litigating in the trenches on the front lines of this battle to preserve voting rights about the impact of these two Supreme Court decisions, and the lower court decisions that have been in their wake.

Since Shelby County in 2013, approximately 21,000 polling places nationwide serving the people of the United States on Election Day have been eliminated. Millions of voters have been purged from the voter rolls. This year alone, seventeen states have passed twenty-eight laws to restrict voting rights.

This assault on the right to vote, this effort to suppress men and women who by law should have that right, is purposeful, relentless, unremitting, and it is supported unfortunately by elected officials across the country. We've seen it in Arizona and Florida, Texas, Arizona. But many more state legislatures are moving in this direction, and the voting rights of this nation are at stake because what we're seeing is a deliberate and systematic attempt to make it harder and more difficult to register to vote – and particularly for people of color to have this right. It is an attempt to subvert our democracy and attack the lifeblood of our nation.

We know in theory that the founders intended that in fact our government, “derives its just powers from the consent of the governed.” But more than an exercise in theory, this effort is a direct, clear attempt to defend against the tsunami of voter suppression bills now crashing on our nation. And that is why the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act should be bipartisan. I have no illusions about it being so. But one way or the other, we ought to follow the advice of John Lewis, who said, “The right to vote is precious, almost sacred. It is the most powerful, nonviolent tool or instrument we have in a democratic society.”

In memory of what he said, but more in tribute to the ideals of democracy that he advanced by his actions, we should stand up to this assault on our democracy and pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. There is no time to waste.

Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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