On the anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, DNC Chair Tom Perez released the following statement celebrating our nation’s progress and reaffirming the Democratic Party’s commitment to expanding access to the ballot box:

“When President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act 52 years ago today, he called the law ‘a triumph for freedom as huge as any victory that has ever been won on any battlefield.’ It was a triumph won by countless organizers and activists who faced down centuries of oppression and fought to move our country forward. Many were beaten and arrested, and some were even killed as they tried to protect and expand our democracy’s most sacred right.

“More than a half a century later, we are still fighting to protect those same freedoms. Four years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court made a disastrous decision to gut the Voting Rights Act; Republican legislatures and governors have drawn racially gerrymandered districts and passed discriminatory voter suppression laws, pushing a myth of ‘widespread voter fraud’ to justify denying African Americans and Latinos their constitutional rights; and Donald Trump, Mike Pence, and Republicans in Congress have been working around the clock to weaken voting protections.

“Democrats believe that our democracy is stronger when more people have access to the ballot box. That’s why we’re working to end discrimination and restore critical protections of the Voting Rights Act. As Republicans trample on the foundation of our democracy, the Democratic Party will keep fighting to protect the right that preserves all others – the right to vote.”