Voting Rights Under Attack
Our most fundamental right is in jeopardy
By Terri Burke
Executive Director
The day I cast my first vote, admittedly for losing candidates, I walked a little taller because I was certain that day I had become an adult. To this day, my family may have to miss spending Thanksgiving together, but we always get together in person or, now, virtually, on Election Day. Simply put, for me, there is just no constitutional right more important than the right to vote. Without it, our Constitution is not worth the paper it is printed on.
That’s why I’m so excited to have been invited to hear Attorney General Eric Holder’s remarks about the Voting Rights Act of 1965 on Tuesday night at the LBJ Auditorium in Austin. The late president’s family will be there to hear General Holder talk about the importance of voting rights and Lyndon Johnson’s heroic leadership in getting the law enacted.
The Attorney General is expected to reiterate the importance of respecting and ensuring the voting rights of all Americans. In Texas, this means, fighting back against those who would shrink our democracy by restricting the right to vote. [...] Continue Reading
Additional Resources
Tell Attorney General Holder: Protect Every Citizen’s Right to Vote (2011 Action): More than four decades ago, the Voting Rights Act put an end to widespread discrimination that robbed people of color of their voice at the ballot box. This year, in state capitols across the country, we are again seeing a pernicious attack on one of our most cherished & fundamental rights: the right to vote.
Don’t Shrink Our Democracy (2011 Video): “The right to vote freely for the candidate of one’s choice is of the essence of a democratic society, and any restrictions on that right strike at the heart of representative government.” — Chief Justice Earl Warren in Reynolds v. Sims
The U.S. Department of Justice letters submitted by ACLU and others ( September 2011 PDF)
The U.S. Department of Justice letters submitted by ACLU and others (November 2011 PDF)
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