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Minority Communities Remain Easy Mark for Voter Suppression: LULAC Joins Civil Rights Advocates in Rally for Shelby Anniversary

June 25, 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, LULAC joins civil and voting rights advocates in Roanoke, Virginia to mark the second anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Shelby County v. Holder decision which struck down key provisions of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). The demonstration calls for Congressional action to reinstate the key provisions which guarantee all Americans equal voting rights.

LULAC National Executive Director, Brent Wilkes, issued the following statement:

“Two years ago, in Shelby County v. Holder, the Supreme Court invalidated the enforcement provision of Section 4 of the VRA which required eight states along with regions of seven others to get pre-approval from the U.S. Department of Justice for any new election laws or redistricting plans.

According to a report released by NALEO, the Shelby decision has impacted the voter eligibility of 7 million Latinos, a group who has been a consistent target of unlawful voter suppression initiatives through a variety of discriminatory state statutes. As expected, the Supreme Court ruling has only resulted in increased voting suppression efforts.

LULAC calls for Congress to take action necessary to restore Section 4 of the VRA and protect voters who remain vulnerable to discrimination. Specifically, the legislation must address known practices that have been used to disenfranchise voters, as well as provide voter rights protections for emerging populations.

Today, we proudly stand with the following organizations in this effort; the Leadership Conference, Democracy Initiative, NAACP, NAACP Voter Fund, Communications Workers of America, A. Phillip Randolph Institute, Human Rights Campaign, Common Cause, Sierra Club, Asian Americans Advancing Justice—AAJC, the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism, Japanese American Citizens League, Bend the Arc Jewish Action, League of Women Voters, NALEO, AFT, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, National Black Justice Coalition, National Action Network, People for the American Way, AFL-CIO, National LGBTQ Task Force, and SEIU."