WASHINGTON, D.C. – On the second anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s controversial 5-4 ruling on Shelby County vs. Holder that gutted key provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) announced his cosponsorship of legislation to restore and expand protections struck down by the Supreme Court.

“There is no greater symbol of our democracy than the right to vote,” Brown said. “As a former Secretary of State, I believe that we should breaking down barriers to the ballot box, not creating them. This legislation would restore voter protections that have been bipartisan for years and help stop voting discrimination before it happens.”

Since 1965, the Voting Rights Act has protected the right of every American registered to vote. Congress has repeatedly voted on a bipartisan basis to renew provisions of the Voting Rights Act which requires the Department of Justice to approve any changes to voting procedures by states and municipalities with a history of discriminatory voting laws and policies. For more than 45 years, this preclearance requirement has protected the rights of millions of eligible voters, and has been upheld by the Supreme Court on four separate occasions. But in 2013, the Supreme Court ended existing preclearance requirements and ruled that Congress must update the list of jurisdictions subject to this requirement. As a result of this ruling, voters across the country are once again vulnerable to discriminatory election laws.

The Voting Rights Reconstruction Act of 2015 would create a new coverage formula to determine which states are in violation of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, and would require covered states and localities to obtain federal preclearance before implementing voting changes. The bill would also grant the U.S. Attorney General the authority to certify and request federal election observers nationwide.

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