The Immorality of Inaction: Congress Cannot Remain Silent on Voting Rights

Floor Speech

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Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on Restoration Tuesday to highlight and recognize the positive strides made by elected officials in support of equal voting rights. Several states, including California, Connecticut, Illinois, Oregon and Vermont have passed laws establishing automatic voter registration. In these states across the country, when a citizen comes in contact with the DMV they are automatically registered to vote unless they actively decline. In April of this year, Gov. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia ordered voting rights restored to 206,000 ex-convicts in Virginia. This year, Virginia joined over 20 states that have helped diminish the stigma of disenfranchisement from citizens who have served their sentences and paid their debts to society. These leaders faced harsh public criticism and were targeted by the media. These were not popular efforts. Mr. Speaker, may I remind my fellow colleagues that we are not here for a popularity contest. We are here to serve the people of America. We are here to support democracy, justice, fairness and equality for all. We cannot and must not continue to sit idly by and do nothing. Last year, I introduced a bill, the Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2015 to answer the call the Supreme Court gave Congress in 2013 after the Shelby v. Holder ruling that called for for a modern day formula to determine federal enforcement. It has been three years since the Supreme Court ruling. It has been over a full year since I introduced the Voting Rights Advancement Act. Inaction on the cause of voting rights has now become ``business as usual'' and this cannot continue. We can no longer be afraid to lead and stand for what is right. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said it best when he stated ``history will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.'' The silence of Congress on the fundamental right to vote is no less than appalling. Political equality is good for everyone. What are we afraid of? Why do we continue to do nothing? The flood of suppressive voting laws continue to flow from every corner of our country and the tide is only getting higher. Our silence only silences the voices and vote of the American people. We can and must do better.

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