July 30, 2025

Duckworth Joins Durbin and Entire Senate Democratic Caucus in Reintroducing John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act

 

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Ahead of the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Senator Reverand Raphael Warnock (D-GA), along with the rest of her Senate Democratic colleagues, in reintroducing the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, legislation that would update and restore critical safeguards of the original Voting Rights Act of 1965 that have been eroded in recent years by federal court rulings. The legislation would strengthen our democracy by re-establishing preclearance for jurisdictions with a pattern of voting rights violations, protecting minority communities subject to discriminatory voting practices and defending election workers from threats and intimidation. It is named in honor of voting rights champion and former Congressman John Lewis.

“The right to vote is a fundamental pillar of our democracy,” said Duckworth. “Our democracy is stronger when every voice is heard, yet Trump and Republicans are continuing to build unnecessary barriers to prevent people from voting—especially in communities of color—and undermining the protections that civil rights leaders like John Lewis fought for. Congress must pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to help safeguard this pillar of democracy and protect the freedom to vote.”

This legislation is especially relevant in Texas where, following historic disapproval of Congressional Republicans’ tax bill, Texas state lawmakers are looking to add five additional Republicans. The move comes in direct response to President Trump’s fears that voters may flip the House in the 2026 midterms.

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s damaging Shelby County decision in 2013—which gutted the federal government’s ability under the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to prevent discriminatory changes to voting laws and procedures—states across the country have unleashed a torrent of voter suppression schemes that have systematically disenfranchised tens of thousands of American voters. The Supreme Court’s decision in Brnovich delivered yet another blow to the Voting Rights Act, by making it significantly harder for plaintiffs to win lawsuits under the landmark law against discriminatory voting laws or procedures.

Along with Duckworth, Durbin and Warnock, the legislation is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ed Markey (D-MA), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), John Fetterman (D-PA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Jack Reed (D-RI), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Peter Welch (D-VT), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Chris Coons (D-CT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Mark Warner (D-VA), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Gary Peters (D-MI), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Tina Smith (D-MN), Angus King (I-VT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD).

A copy of the bill text is available on Senator Duckworth’s website.

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