Washington, D.C. — Michele Jawando, Vice President at the Center for American Progress Action Fund, released the following statement after tonight’s Republican debate highlighted how new rhetoric from GOP candidates cannot overshadow the harmful reality of the impacts of their policies.
On the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, we didn’t hear a single mention in tonight’s GOP debate of the importance of reauthorizing the law that ensures all Americans have equal access to the ballot. That might be because so many of the candidates support restrictive voting laws such as the Texas voter ID law that was just invalidated by the court earlier this week.
Since the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act, many states have worked to erect barriers to the vote that disproportionately impact voters of color, young people, and low-income communities. Ensuring access to this basic right should be a pillar of a presidential candidacy, but the millions shut out from the polls heard only silence tonight.
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