Raleigh, NC. –This afternoon, Congresswoman Deborah Ross (NC-02) and Congressman G.K. Butterfield (NC-01) hosted a discussion on voting rights in North Carolina and broader federal voting reform efforts. This event featured remarks from an expert panel including Irving Joyner, Professor of Law at North Carolina Central University School of Law; Allison Riggs, Co-Executive Director for the Southern Coalition for Social Justice; and Guy-Uriel E. Charles, the founding Director of the Duke Law Center on Law, Race, and Politics and Professor of Law at Harvard University.

“As we’ve heard today, Americans across the country—including in North Carolina—continue to face voter suppression,” said Congresswoman Ross. “Some states and localities have worked to deny and dilute the voices of racial minorities, and so it is imperative for us to enact new legislation to protect our most fundamental right—the right to vote. With the passage of H.R. 1, the For the People Act, and, recently, H.R. 4, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, in the House of Representatives, I am hopeful that voting rights will be protected and that we restore the promise of our democracy for the people.”

Congresswoman Ross is a cosponsor of H.R. 1, the For the People Act, which passed the House in March. H.R. 1 would expand access to the ballot box by addressing institutional barriers to voting and promoting election integrity and security.

She is also a cosponsor of H.R. 4, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which passed the House last week. This legislation would restore Sections 2 and 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 after they were gutted in two Supreme Court decisions: Shelby County v. Holder in 2013 and Brnovich v. DNC in 2021. H.R. 4 would implement practice-based preclearance coverage and eliminate the heightened standard for challenging voter discrimination established in the Brnovich decision.

Find the link to the event here.

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