{"id":9477,"date":"2021-10-05T22:27:44","date_gmt":"2021-10-05T22:27:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/?post_type=press-releases&p=9477"},"modified":"2021-10-05T22:27:47","modified_gmt":"2021-10-05T22:27:47","slug":"sen-ossoff-colleagues-introduce-historic-john-r-lewis-voting-rights-advancement-act-of-2021","status":"publish","type":"press-releases","link":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/press-releases\/sen-ossoff-colleagues-introduce-historic-john-r-lewis-voting-rights-advancement-act-of-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"Sen. Ossoff, Colleagues Introduce Historic John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sen. Ossoff\u2019s election worker protection bill included in historic legislation to restore the \u201cVoting Rights Act\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

TOMORROW: Sen. Ossoff to chair part of Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on urgent need to pass the bill<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington, D.C. <\/strong>\u2013\u2013 Today, U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff, a member of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, joined Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and 47 colleagues in introducing the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021, <\/em>landmark federal voting rights legislation that would restore key parts of the Voting Rights Act <\/em>to protect the sacred right to vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bill is named in honor of Sen. Ossoff\u2019s mentor, the late Congressman John Lewis, who put his life on the line to secure voting rights for all Americans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCongressman Lewis put his life on the line to secure passage of the Voting Rights Act<\/em>. This legislation, named in his honor, will restore the Voting Rights Act<\/em>\u2019s protections and protect ballot access for all American voters,\u201d Sen. Ossoff said.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Ossoff will chair the second panel of a historic Senate Judiciary Committee hearing tomorrow afternoon<\/a> on the urgent need to pass the legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021 <\/em>would restore key protections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965<\/em> that were gutted by the Supreme Court to prevent states with a history of discrimination \u2014 like Georgia \u2014 from enacting laws that discriminate against minority communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The historic legislation also includes Sen. Ossoff\u2019s Election Worker and Polling Place Protection Act<\/em>,<\/a> which would help protect election workers and their families from threats of harm and safeguard election infrastructure, such as polling places.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act<\/em> of 2021<\/em> would:<\/p>\n\n\n\n