Watch: As Voting Rights Act turns 59, White House vows restoring it is still a priority

This week marks the 59th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Nearly six decades after the act granted Black Americans the right to vote without fear of racial discrimination, data from the Brennan Center for Justice shows that the turnout gap between Black and brown voters and white voters has steadily increased over the years.

Advocates and experts point out those numbers are a result of rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court that struck down key provisions in the Voting Rights Act that sought to prevent the disenfranchisement of Black and brown voters. During a recent White House briefing, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told theGrio that passing federal legislation in Congress to restore voting rights protections is “something that we want to see get done.”

In the absence of the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and Freedom to Vote Act, Jean-Pierre said, President Joe Biden signed an executive order calling for federal agencies to expand voter registration. The White House spokesperson also noted that Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, called for the anniversary to serve as a “day of action.”

As Biden and Harris continue to call on Congress to pass bills that Republicans have stalled for years, Jean-Pierre told theGrio the White House is doing everything it can to “ensure that every eligible American can exercise their right to vote and have their vote counted.”

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