Hoyer Statement on Georgia Republicans Moving to Suppress Voting Rights
For Immediate Release:
March 25, 2021
Contact Info:
Margaret Mulkerrin 202-225-3130
WASHINGTON, DC – House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement tonight after Governor Brian Kemp signed a sweeping voter suppression bill into law:
“American democracy is premised on the notion that every adult citizen ought to have an equal say in choosing those who lead us. Georgia Republicans, like their counterparts in many other states, have come to the determination that democracy is electorally inconvenient, and their response has been legislation to curb ballot access and deny citizens their ability to vote and have their voices heard. The bill signed by Gov. Kemp this evening is part of a national strategy by Republicans to prevent minorities from voting, a blatant embrace of the Jim Crow-era voter suppression that made our democracy so imperfect for so long and against which Rep. John Lewis, the greatest legislator to represent Georgia in the halls of Congress, spent his life courageously fighting.
“This is exactly why the voting rights protections included in H.R. 1, the For The People Act, are so critical. I was proud to bring that legislation to the Floor and work to pass it in the House earlier this month, and the Senate began to advance its own counterpart legislation this week. H.R. 1 would enact automatic voter registration, expand early and weekend voting opportunities, and create a national voter protection hotline, among other provisions meant to protect Americans' right to vote.
“Last Congress, House Democrats passed legislation to update, reinvigorate, and extend the reach of Sections 4 and 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which the Supreme Court effectively nullified in 2013. The House will pass that legislation again, hoping that this time the Senate will do the right thing and pass it as well. The consequence of this terrible decision has been to allow discriminatory and undemocratic state election laws, like the one Gov. Kemp signed, to go into effect unchecked. If we cannot protect the right to vote and the equal access of every eligible voter to the ballot box, American democracy will not work and will not be able to deliver government by, of, and for the people."
“American democracy is premised on the notion that every adult citizen ought to have an equal say in choosing those who lead us. Georgia Republicans, like their counterparts in many other states, have come to the determination that democracy is electorally inconvenient, and their response has been legislation to curb ballot access and deny citizens their ability to vote and have their voices heard. The bill signed by Gov. Kemp this evening is part of a national strategy by Republicans to prevent minorities from voting, a blatant embrace of the Jim Crow-era voter suppression that made our democracy so imperfect for so long and against which Rep. John Lewis, the greatest legislator to represent Georgia in the halls of Congress, spent his life courageously fighting.
“This is exactly why the voting rights protections included in H.R. 1, the For The People Act, are so critical. I was proud to bring that legislation to the Floor and work to pass it in the House earlier this month, and the Senate began to advance its own counterpart legislation this week. H.R. 1 would enact automatic voter registration, expand early and weekend voting opportunities, and create a national voter protection hotline, among other provisions meant to protect Americans' right to vote.
“Last Congress, House Democrats passed legislation to update, reinvigorate, and extend the reach of Sections 4 and 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which the Supreme Court effectively nullified in 2013. The House will pass that legislation again, hoping that this time the Senate will do the right thing and pass it as well. The consequence of this terrible decision has been to allow discriminatory and undemocratic state election laws, like the one Gov. Kemp signed, to go into effect unchecked. If we cannot protect the right to vote and the equal access of every eligible voter to the ballot box, American democracy will not work and will not be able to deliver government by, of, and for the people."