Washington, D.C. — Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper joined U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and every other Senate Democrat to reintroduce the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. 

“John Lewis fought his whole life to hold our country to its highest ideals and ensure that every American has equal access to the ballot box. This legislation honors his legacy and takes an important step to strengthen our democracy by guaranteeing that every vote counts,” said Bennet. 

“John Lewis believed democracy was an action that required constant work. Our job is to protect every American's right to vote,” said Hickenlooper.

The Supreme Court’s decisions in Shelby County v. Holder and Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee crippled the federal government’s ability to challenge discriminatory changes to voting laws and procedures under the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In the years since the Shelby decision, state legislatures across the country have passed laws to suppress Americans’ right to vote and systematically disenfranchise tens of thousands of voters. The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act updates and restores critical safeguards in the original Voting Rights Act and defends Americans’ right to vote.

In July 2023, Bennet, Hickenlooper, and all of their Democratic Senate colleagues introduced the Freedom to Vote Act to improve Americans’ access to the ballot, invest in state election infrastructure, strengthen campaign finance disclosure requirements, and ensure our elections are free from interference.  

This bill is endorsed by hundreds of organizations, including: Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, American Civil Liberties Union, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), MALDEF, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law, and Demos.

In addition to Bennet, Hickenlooper, Durbin, Warnock, and Schumer, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Jon Tester (D-Mt.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Angus King (I-Maine), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and John Fetterman (D-Pa.). 

The text of the bill is available HERE.