Congresswoman Johnson Issues a Statement on the Two-Year Anniversary of the Supreme Court Decision in Shelby County v. Holder

WASHINGTON, D.C. - (Thursday, June 25th, 2015) - Today, Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson released the following statement on the two-year anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Shelby County v. Holder :

“Two years ago today, the Supreme Court struck down a key provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Since this hazardous decision, several Republican-led states in the Deep South, with a violent history of voting rights violations have enacted more restrictive voter ID laws. As a result, we have seen an increase in suppressed voter turnout among African-Americans, Hispanics and low-income individuals. Without a doubt, the Court’s decision haphazardly paved the way for states with the ugliest history of discrimination against minority voters, including Texas, to effectively reinstate the poll tax, while weakening the Justice Department’s authority to ensure fair elections.

In my home state of Texas, where a federal judge ruled that 600,000 registered voters lacked acceptable forms of identification under the new law, the Supreme Court allowed the law to remain in place during the 2014 elections; thus denying otherwise eligible Texans the right to vote. Now, in addition to gerrymandered districts, Southern states are unfairly rigging elections by ensuring that only a specific segment of the population participates in the democratic process. While Texans are able to vote with a handgun license, they are not able to do so with a college or student I.D. This is unacceptable.

The right to vote is fundamental to our democratic system of government, and it is strengthened when every citizen participates. That is why I am proud to be a co-sponsor of the Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2015. This piece of legislation will restore the voting rights protections that were stripped away by the Supreme Court’s ruling in Shelby County v. Holder, and I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to work together to bring this critical piece of legislation to the floor immediately.”

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CONTACT: Yinka Robinson | (202)225-8885

U.S. Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson is the ranking member of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and the highest-ranking Texan on the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure. She represents the 30th Congressional District of Texas, which includes Downtown Dallas, Fair Park, Kessler Park, Old East Dallas, Pleasant Grove, South Dallas & South Oak Cliff; all of Cedar Hill, DeSoto, Duncanville, Hutchins, Lancaster & Wilmer and parts of Ferris, Glenn Heights, South Grand Prairie, Oak Lawn, Ovilla, Uptown/Victory Park and West Dallas.