Voting Rights
Statement from Asian Americans Advancing Justice
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WASHINGTON, DC —The Senate concluded its debate on the Freedom to Vote: John Lewis Act, moved to a vote, and failed to get the number of votes to pass this essential legislation or to change rules long enough to break the impasse that would lead to swift passage of the legislation.
The Asian Americans Advancing Justice affiliation, a group of five independent Asian American civil rights organizations, issues the following statement on the importance of protecting the right to vote:
Asian American Voters’ Lawsuit Against SB 202 Moves Forward
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ATLANTA, GA - On December 9, the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Georgia denied motions by Georgia state elections officials, the Republican Party, and various county defendants to dismiss Asian American voters’ lawsuit challenging SB 202, a sweeping anti-voting bill passed earlier this year by Georgia’s Republican-controlled state legislature along party lines.
Asian American Communities Hail the Expansion Of Language Access For Limited English Proficient Voters
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Washington, D.C. — The Census Bureau updated determinations pursuant to the federal Voting Rights Act, designating Section 203 covered jurisdictions where elections officials are required to provide bilingual voting assistance to Asian Americans, Latines, American Indians, and Alaskan Natives.
Asian Americans Advancing Justice affiliate organizations in California, Illinois, and Washington, D.C. issue a statement about the newly released determinations:
On December 8, 2021, the Census Bureau updated the Section 203 determinations based on 2015- 2019 American Community Survey Data. Part of the federal Voting Rights Act, Section 203 requires jurisdictions designated in the determinations to provide bilingual voting assistance to Asian Americans, Latinos, American Indians and Alaskan Natives. Section 203 determinations, starting with the last one released in 2016, are made every five years based on decennial census data based on American Community Survey data.
Civil Rights Organizations Applaud Timely Release by Acting Census Director Identifying Jurisdictions that Must Provide Language Assistance under Section 203 of Voting Rights Act
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Washington, DC – On December 8, 2021, the Acting Director of the U.S.
At an Ethnic Media Services briefing, co-hosted with The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Nov. 5, speakers – Wade Henderson, Interim President and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the oldest civil rights coalition in the U.S.; John C.
Asian Americans Advancing Justice Organizations Say Senators Failed American Voters
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Washington, D.C. — After the Senate failed to advance the bipartisan John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to a full floor debate, the Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Chicago, and Los Angeles affiliates of Asian Americans Advancing Justice, issue the following statement:
“Voters need a Congress that protects them from voter suppression efforts and today we see that many politicians in Congress failed to do so by refusing to move the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act forward.
Asian Americans Advancing Justice Applauds Introduction of John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act in the Senate and Urges Congress to Act
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WASHINGTON, DC — October 5, 2021 ― The Senate introduced the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act this afternoon following the U.S. House of Representatives passage of H.R. 4 (John Lewis VRAA) over a month ago. Civil rights organizations in the Asian Americans Advancing Justice affiliation applaud the introduction and look forward to working with the Senate to strengthen the bill and pass the legislation to protect the right to vote.
Senate Testimony for Hearing on “Restoring the Voting Rights Act: Combating Discriminatory Abuses”
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA) has been vital to the prevention of actual and threatened discrimination aimed at Asian Americans in national and local elections, and for increasing their access to the ballot.
This testimony outlines the need to restore section 5 of the VRA to protect Asian American voters and how the Shelby County v. Holder decision in 2013 invalidated the key enforcement provision and made voting discrimination harder to stop.
Download the testimony to read more.