Congresswoman Terri Sewell issued the following statement commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965:

“Our constitutionally guaranteed right to vote was paid for by the life of Jimmie Lee Jackson, and the untold sacrifices of the brave Foot Soldiers of the Voting Rights Movement. Their courage led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 – a landmark law that fulfilled promises made by the Constitution.

“We need not count marbles in a jar or memorize the name of every county judge, but new barriers have replaced overt efforts to suppress voter turnout. These new barriers – such as voter ID laws or changing polling locations without public notice – have been passed off as measures needed to protect the vote, but in reality they have only made it harder to vote.

“The Voting Rights Act abolished many barriers to the ballot box, and ensured that every vote would count. I stood beside my Democratic colleagues in the House and Senate last week to call for full restoration of the federal protections afforded by the Voting Rights Act.

“As a daughter of Selma and a beneficiary of the Voting Rights Movement, I pledge to be on the frontlines of the legislative fight for federal voter protections. Congress must begin by restoring the Voting Rights Act of 1965. I have introduced the Voting Rights Advancement Act with a modern day formula to determine voter suppression. We cannot return to the days when only some votes mattered. All votes matter. Our nation will cease to be a democracy if we impose arbitrary and unnecessary barriers that silence any voices within our electorate.”

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