On 48th Anniversary of Voting Rights Act, Cohen Calls on Congress to Address Supreme Court Ruling
[WASHINGTON, DC] – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today commemorated the 48th anniversary of the landmark Voting Rights Act, which President Lyndon Johnson signed into law on August 6th, 1965, and called on Congress to address a recent Supreme Court ruling that eviscerated important protections that have helped secure the right to vote for all Americans for nearly 5 decades.
“With the 50th anniversary of the Great March on Washington that led to the Voting Rights Act only weeks away, it is sad that the Supreme Court has decided to gut some of the law’s most important provisions,” said Congressman Cohen. “While the Department of Justice works to ensure that the civil rights protections that remain are fully enforced, Congress must act quickly to fix the Supreme Court’s mistake, return the Voting Rights Act to full strength, and protect the civil and human rights that we fought for decades to obtain. We cannot just sit and wait for even more discrimination against minorities to take place; we must do all that we can—as quickly as we can—to prevent it in the first place.”
The Voting Rights Act was enacted only after years of those in the civil rights movement marching and in some cases being beaten or dying in the pursuit of voting rights. For 48 years, the Voting Rights Act has helped secure the right to vote for millions of Americans. In a 5-4 decision delivered on June 25, the Supreme Court took a step backwards on the Voting Rights Act by holding that the formula in Section 4 of the Act was unconstitutional and could no longer be used.
In striking down Section 4, the Court put the civil rights of millions of Americans at risk by making enforcement of the Voting Rights Act more difficult. The Court did, however, leave the door open for Congress to revisit Section 4 and update the coverage formula to allow for proper enforcement.
Congressman Cohen, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, will work to ensure that the protections of the Voting Rights Act are restored as soon as possible.