Voting is the cornerstone of democracy. But all around the country, politicians are trying to make it harder — especially for historically disenfranchised groups. New Jersey lawmakers have a crucial opportunity to make the Garden State a national leader in protecting and strengthening voting rights by passing the John R. Lewis Voter Empowerment Act of New Jersey (S282/A1715).
This urgent legislation will:
• Establish a "preclearance" program to verify that certain proposed changes to the voting process will not harm voters of color;
• Provide new legal tools to fight discriminatory voting rules and practices in court;
• Expand language assistance for voters with limited English proficiency;
• Include strong protections against voter intimidation, deception, and obstruction; and
• Create a central hub of election data to promote transparency and best practices for election administration.
At a time when voter suppression and discrimination are on the rise and with recent action by the U.S. Supreme Court further eroding critical protections under the federal Voting Rights Act, New Jersey must lead the way in protecting and expanding access to the ballot. The NJVEA will make voting freer and fairer in the Garden State. Our fundamental civil rights and liberties rest on the right to vote. We must protect it by passing the NJVEA now. I’m urging you to sign this bill into law as soon as possible.
