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WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-12) released the following statement on the Voting Right’s Advancement Act passing the House of Representatives.

“We must always continue moving forward in the fight to make it easier – not harder – for all Americans to exercise their right to vote. It’s no coincidence that since 2013, when the Supreme Court struck down a key provision in the Voting Rights Act of 1965, we have seen an uptick in voter suppression efforts and people turned away from the polls. Hard-working men and women who voted for decades were suddenly denied their right to vote.

“The most important single right an American has is the right to vote. With the House passage of the Voting Rights Advancement Act, we are carrying on the legacy of all those who fought to extend the right to vote for every American. Our country is strongest when we expand voting rights, not suppress them.”

The Voting Rights Advancement Act will restore the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by developing a process to determine which states must pre-clear election changes with the Department of Justice. It will also require a nationwide, practice-based pre-clearance of known discriminatory practices, including the creation of at-large districts, inadequate multilingual voting materials and cuts to polling places.

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