Congressman Steven Horsford Votes to Defend Voting Rights

Washington, D.C. — On Friday, December 6, 2019, Congressman Steven Horsford (NV-04) voted to pass H.R. 4, the Voting Rights Advancement Act, to restore the strength of the Voting Rights Act to combat voter discrimination. Congressman Horsford is an original cosponsor of the bill.

"Congress has a responsibility to make sure all Americans can exercise their voting rights. More than 50 years after passage of the Voting Rights Act, Americans still face discriminatory voting practices at the polls. This bill bolsters protections against discriminatory voting practices in the face of narrowed voting windows, closing polling places, and the creation of new barriers to voting across the country," Congressman Horsford said. "Voter suppression campaigns are silencing the voices of American voters, particularly communities of color. Americans fought hard for protections against discriminatory voting practices. Today, Congress has honored their sacrifice."

The Supreme Courts' 2013 Shelby County v. Holder ruling struck down Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which outlined the qualifications needed to determine which states are required by the Justice Department to pre-clear elections changes in states with a history of voter discrimination.

Since the Shelby decision, nearly two-dozen states have implemented restrictive voter ID laws and previously-covered states have closed or consolidated polling places, shortened early voting and imposed other measures that restrict voting.

The Voting Rights Advancement Act seeks to restore the VRA 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.