Washington, D.C. — Today, Eric H. Holder Jr., the 82nd Attorney General of the United States and Chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, released the following statement ahead of the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), which was signed into law on August 6, 1965: 

“Sixty years after its enactment, the Voting Rights Act remains the nation’s most effective means by which the right to vote can be protected. Its recent enforcement has led to the long-sought creation of more fair and just maps in places once thought to be unreachable in the fight for equal representation, including Louisiana and Alabama. 

“What is also unfortunately true today is that our nation is seeing the greatest attack on the right to vote since the Jim Crow era. This includes a proposed and hideous gerrymander in Texas that packs Black and Latino communities into fewer districts—further diminishing the rightful voting power of those communities—to historically rejected arguments poised to be made in the U.S. Supreme Court during its next term in an effort to dismantle Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The dramatic escalation of the attack on the right to vote underscores the fact that the Voting Rights Act not only remains necessary as presently constituted, but also that it must be restored and enhanced. 

“This is a moment for reflection, but it must also be a time for action. Those who are truly committed to the right to vote and to ensuring that American democracy survives this crisis moment in history must be bold, forceful and creative in our actions. And unlike in the recent past, once the necessary power is reacquired, we must use our abilities to enact an enhanced Voting Right Act and fully ban partisan gerrymandering. 

“The crown jewel of the Civil Rights Movement has done much to make America a better nation. Its survival and expansion are critical to the continued progress that the nation sorely needs.”

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