As House Passes Voting Rights Advancement Act, Norton Says D.C. Statehood Cut from Same Cloth

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), who strongly supported House passage of the Voting Rights Advancement Act (H.R. 4), said the bill's passage today reinforces her own District of Columbia statehood bill (H.R. 51), which gives D.C. residents equal voting rights in Congress. Norton said both bills stand for the right to vote as the backbone of our democracy. Since the 2013 Supreme Court decision partially invalidating the 1965 Voting Rights Act (VRA), Shelby County v. Holder, voter suppression laws have depressed turnout in the United States, particularly in communities of color.

"In celebrating House passage of H.R. 4 today, I could not help but note the ultimate case of voter suppression: denying D.C. residents voting rights on the floor of the House and the Senate," Norton said. "Noteworthy as well is H.R. 1, the bill that contains multiple ways to strengthen the franchise, contained both endorsements of the VRA and H.R. 21, the Washington, D.C. Admission Act. Fortunately, during this 116th Congress, we also anticipate House passage of H.R. 51."

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