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Pelosi Statement on Republican Obstruction of John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act

November 3, 2021

Contact: Speaker's Press Office,

202-226-7616

Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement after Republicans blocked the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act from advancing in the Senate:

"Today, Senate Republicans again undermined the sacred right to vote and harmed their own constituents when they blocked the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.

"Right now, our nation faces the most sinister and severe campaign of voter suppression since Jim Crow. Across the country, Republican state legislators and Republican-appointed judges are silencing the voices of voters – especially in communities of color. This year alone, we have seen states enact 33 new laws restricting access to the ballot, as well as a Supreme Court ruling in Brnovich v. DNC that further eroded the Voting Rights Act.

"While Republicans in Congress shamefully abandon their oath to defend our democracy and greenlight this brazen assault for their own political gain, Democrats are fighting back. Our House-passed Voting Rights Advancement Act empowered the Justice Department to block voting restrictions imposed by states with dark histories of discrimination so every voter has fair access to the ballot box – a cause to which our beloved John Lewis courageously devoted his entire life. Proudly, the people are with us: on an overwhelming and bipartisan basis, Americans support the passage of this urgent, essential legislation.

"Democrats will not relent until this bill, and the Freedom to Vote Act, are enshrined into law so that every American can have a say in the destiny of our democracy."

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