PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION
August 5, 2015

LATINO LEADERS COMMEMORATE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF HISTORIC VOTING RIGHTS ACT AND 40-YEARS OF SECTION 203, THE LANGUAGE ASSISTANCE PROVISION
1-year After NHLA Report Documenting Voting Rights Violations, Congress Needs to Act

Washington, DC—Today, the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), a coalition of 40 leading national Latino nonpartisan civil rights and advocacy organizations, released the following statement on the 50th Anniversary of the signing of the historic Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the 40th anniversary of the 1975 addition of Section 203 providing protection for language minorities.

The VRA’s Section 203 has long been a critical piece for Latino voters, in 1975, Congress recognized the diversity of the United States and that millions of Americans relied heavily on languages other than English to be informed voters and participate in elections. As a result the inclusion of “language minorities” in the VRA’s overall protections was a hard fought victory for Latinos. This important piece, cited in the law as Section 203, is a milestone in voting rights for Latinos that should also be recognized.

“Today marks the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) being signed into law. This law is a cornerstone of our democracy. It codifies what our nation promises: that every American citizen has access to the ballot box, unimpeded by discriminatory barriers.

While we celebrate today these seminal pieces of law, the fact is our right to vote is still under attack. Since the Supreme Court gutted the VRA two summers ago and passed the buck to Congress to fix it, our representatives have failed to do so,” said Hector Sanchez, NHLA Chair and Executive Director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement

Last year, with the hope of prompting congressional action, NALEO, MALDEF and NHLA released a joint report, “Latinos and the VRA: A Modern fix for Modern Day Discrimination.” The report refuted the mistaken belief that discrimination in voting no longer exists. The report documented recent, far-reaching, and egregious voting discrimination against the Latino community. NHLA shared this report with Washington policy makers, and far too many, in spite of the evidence, said they do not believe voting discrimination exists.

If Congress fails to fix the Voting Rights Act this session, next year will mark the first Presidential election in 50 years that voters have gone to polls unprotected by anti-discrimination review procedures, and election observer placement that has helped to prevent numerous illegal schemes to disenfranchise minority voters Latinos and others who have borne the brunt of discrimination throughout American history, and who have fought so hard for the right to vote and for meaningful representation in government, cannot afford to let this happen. There is strong and deep support in the Latino community for protecting equal voting rights.

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Established in 1991, the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA) brings together Hispanic leaders to establish policy priorities that address, and raise public awareness of, the major issues affecting the Latino community and the nation as a whole. In 2013, NHLA launched the Latinos United for Immigration Reform campaign. For more information, please visit www.nationalhispanicleadership.org and LatinosUnited.org and follow @NHLAgenda.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

| Teresa Acuña | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | (202) 508-6917 |

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