WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) joined U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Senate Judiciary Ranking Member Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and the entire Senate Democratic caucus in reintroducing the John R. Lewis Voting 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 reestablishing 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 U.S. Congressman John Lewis of Georgia. 

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 Republican seats in the House of Representatives. The move comes in direct response to President Trump’s fears that voters may flip the House in the 2026 midterms.  

“Voting is a sacred freedom, and depriving people of their right to participate in our democratic process is a threat to democracy. Right now, states across the country are violating this fundamental right by enacting discriminatory laws deliberately designed to keep people from the ballot box. The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act works to restore crucial protections of the Voting Rights Act to ensure that everyone has a voice in our democratic system,” said Senator Welch. 

“As I often say, a vote is a kind of prayer for the world we desire for ourselves and our children,” said Senator Reverend Warnock. “Our prayers are stronger when we pray together. Democracy is the political enactment of a spiritual idea that each of us has within ourselves the spark of the divine. We all have value, and if we all have value, we ought to have a voice in the direction of our country; we ought to have a vote.”   

“There is no freedom more fundamental than the right to vote.  But between the Trump Administration’s executive order on voter registration and state legislatures’ gerrymandering districts, there has been a clear, concerted effort to chip away at the protections guaranteed to every American under the Voting Rights Act,” said Senator Durbin. “In the face of these injustices that target communities of color and their right to vote, we must continue the work of civil rights leaders like John Lewis and strengthen the framework of the Voting Rights Act by passing the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.” 

“The ‘good trouble’ John Lewis spoke of is not just an inspirational phrase – it’s a challenge to all of us to rise to the occasion and to fight for the ideals that make our country great. I’ve been clear that when it comes to protecting democracy, we must fight fire with fire. We will not stand idly by while Republicans’ revert to Jim Crow era voting restrictions— suppressing votes and people that do not match their ideals. We will fight to protect democracy – the bedrock of our society and the foundation of what makes the American dream possible,” said Democratic Leader Schumer.  

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s damaging Shelby County decision in 2013—which crippled 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 efforts, including SB 202 in Georgia. The Supreme Court’s decision in Brnovich v Democratic National Committee 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. 

In addition to Senator Warnock, Ranking Member Durbin, Leader Schumer, and Senator Welch, the legislation is cosponsored by the entire Democratic caucus. The VRAA is endorsed by 178 organizations. These organizations understand that voting rights are preservative of all other rights and progress on a range of critical issues cannot take place if citizens cannot make their voices heard. The list of endorsing Georgia and national organizations of the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act can be found here. 

Learn more about the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. 

Read and download the full text of the bill. 

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