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Sign On To Show Your Support for the Louisiana State Voting Rights Act! · Mobilize
**Please sign this letter to show your support for a Louisiana Voting Rights Act.** Signing this letter is a concrete way to stand up for fair representation and equal access to the ballot in Louisiana. The Louisiana Voting Rights Act would create state-level protections to stop discriminatory voting practices, prevent unfair maps, and allow communities to defend their rights in Louisiana courts without waiting years for federal relief. At a time when key federal protections have been weakened, this legislation ensures that our state takes responsibility for safeguarding democracy. By adding your name, you send a clear message to legislators that voters expect action, accountability, and a firm commitment to protecting the fundamental right to vote for every Louisianan. -- March 2026 Louisiana State Legislature 900 N 3rd Street Baton Rouge, LA 70802 **Re: Pass the Louisiana State Voting Rights Act** To the Louisiana State Legislature: We, the undersigned organizations and individuals, call for the immediate passage of the Louisiana Voting Rights Act, Senate Bill 365 (“S.B. 365”) filed by Senator Royce Duplessis. At a time when the principles of fair representation are being dismantled at every level of government, Louisiana must act now to protect the freedom to vote and to defend democracy. More than sixty years ago, the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (“VRA”), fundamentally reshaped American democracy. By dismantling many systemic barriers to Black political participation and representation, the federal VRA’s impact was immediate and transformative. Before the VRA, only slightly more than 30% of voting age people of color in Louisiana were registered to vote; and within two years of the VRA’s passage, registration rates jumped to nearly 60% for this population. [^1] For decades, the VRA’s core protections were considered settled and essential. Congress reauthorized the VRA five times, as recently as 2006, with overwhelming bipartisan support, reaffirming a shared commitment to fair and equal access to the ballot.[^2] Yet despite the VRA’s historic popularity and success, key provisions have been chipped away in the decades since its passage, increasing the urgency to protect its remaining provisions and advance state-level voting protections. The Supreme Court’s 2013 decision in *Shelby County v. Holder* gutted critical, proactive VRA protections that prevented discriminatory voting policies and unfair maps from taking effect in places with the worst records of voter suppression, including communities across Louisiana.[^3] Over a decade after Shelby, it was litigation under the remaining antidiscrimination protections of the VRA that compelled Louisiana to finally adopt a fair congressional map that provided new opportunities for Black voters to elect their candidates of choice after years of exclusion.[^4] But that progress was immediately challenged, marking a renewed effort to attack what remains of the VRA in *Louisiana v. Callais*. In Louisiana and beyond, the promise of the VRA, and the multi-ethnic, multi-racial democracy it was designed to protect, is under sustained attack with predictable results. Political participation has been suppressed, representation distorted, and equal power denied. For example, parishes have closed polling places disproportionately in Black communities.[^6] And voter turnout in Black communities has routinely and significantly trailed behind white communities, including in the most recent presidential and gubernatorial election cycles and particularly in communities formerly covered under Section 5.[^7] **The Louisiana Legislature cannot sit by while these harms persist and our democracy is hollowed.** The time is now to pass the Louisiana Voting Rights Act, which would provide essential tools to address threats to voting rights and fair representation in Louisiana’s parishes, cities, and towns. The Louisiana Voting Rights Act would establish meaningful safeguards by: - Stopping voter suppression and discriminatory practices before harm spreads - Preventing unfair and racially dilutive voting maps at the parish and local levels - Allowing communities to defend their rights in Louisiana courts without waiting years for federal action Legislation like the Louisiana Voting Rights Act is powerful, practical, and popular. More than three-quarters of voters nationwide support a voting rights act in their state, including broad support across political affiliation and racial lines.[^8] Why? Because the right to vote is fundamental. Representation is not a privilege. And a democracy without equal access to the ballot is a democracy in name only. **We ask each Louisiana Legislator to:** 1. **Co-Sponsor the Louisiana Voting Rights Act:** Lawmakers must do more than cast a vote. We are asking legislators to attach their names to this bill and publicly stand for voting rights. This is not the moment to avoid the fight or quietly sideline the issue. The Louisiana Voting Rights Act seeks only to protect the basic rights every Louisiana citizen is entitled to. 2. **Vote for the Louisiana Voting Rights Act, S.B. 365:** We call on all legislators to vote for the Louisiana State Voting Rights Act to codify their support for voting rights and fair elections into state law. 3. **Stand with the People in Power on March 18th:** On Wednesday, March 18, Power Coalition for Equity and Justice (“Power Coalition”) and partners will bring people together from across the state to advocate for the Louisiana Voting Rights Act at the Capitol. We need legislators to be present and to stand with the people in delivering this crucial message. For over a decade, Power Coalition and our partners have been on the frontlines defending voting rights in Louisiana. We know this legislation is necessary because we have seen firsthand how our system has degraded in recent years. This is a defining moment. We must act. Future generations will look back at these attacks on voting rights and our freedoms and will judge us on what we did—or failed to do—in this moment. We urge the Legislature to act without delay and to unequivocally affirm that in Louisiana, every voice matters, every community counts, and the promise of equal protection will be enforced, not deferred. Pass the Louisiana Voting Rights Act now. Sincerely, **Ashley Shelton, President/CEO** Power Coalition for Equity and Justice 7389 Florida Blvd Suites 3 & 4 Baton Rouge, LA 70806 **Victoria Wenger, Counsel** NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. 40 Rector Street, Floor 5 New York, NY 10006 **Imani Brooks, Policy Counsel** Adam Lioz, Senior Policy Counsel NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. 700 14th Street N.W., Suite 600 Washington, DC 20005 A Bella LaFemme Society ACLU Louisiana All Streets All People - ASAP Alliance for Affordable Energy Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund Black Voters Matter Fund Democracy in Action Engaging New Voices and Voters (ENVV) For a Better Bayou HousingLOUISIANA LatinoJustice PRLDEF LCCR LWVLA Mama+ NAACP Louisiana NCJW New Orleans Maternal Child Health Coalition PJI State Voices The Amandla Group VOTE Cc: Louisiana Committee on Senate and Governmental Affairs Louisiana Committee on House and Governmental Affairs -- [^1] See Table 4, The Voting Rights Act: Historical Development and Policy Background, https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R47520. [^2] See Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, and Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments of 2006, Pub. L. No. 109-246, 120 Stat. 577. [^3] 570 U.S. 529 (2013); see Jurisdictions Previously Covered By Section 5, CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE (May 17, 2023), https://www.justice.gov/crt/jurisdictions-previously-covered-section-5. [^4] See Robinson v. Landry, LEGAL DEFENSE FUND, https://www.naacpldf.org/case-issue/robinson-v-landry-louisiana-discriminatory-redistricting/. [^5] See Louisiana v. Callais, 606 U.S. ___ (2025); see also Louisiana v. Callais FAQ, LEGAL DEFENSE FUND, https://www.naacpldf.org/case-issue/louisiana-v-callais-faq/. [^6] See Democracy Diverted: Polling Place Closures and the Right to Vote, THE LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE EDUCATION FUND (Sept. 2019), https://civilrightsdocs.info/pdf/reports/Democracy-Diverted.pdf. [^7] See Why Geaux Vote? Racial Disparities in Louisiana Voter Turnout and Opportunities for Intervention, 4 FORDHAM L. VOTING RTS. & DEMOCRACY F. 1 (2026), https://fordhamdemocracyproject.com/2026/01/28/why-geaux-vote-racial-disparities-in-louisiana-voter-turnout-and-opportunities-for-intervention/; see also Kevin Morris and Coryn Grange, Growing Racial Disparities in Turnout, 2008-2022, BRENNAN CENTER (Mar. 2, 2024), at Figure 10 White-Black Turnout Gap Time Series, https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/growing-racial-disparities-voter-turnout-2008-2022. [^8] Mem. from LDF & Impact Rsch. to Interested Parties (Jan. 16, 2025), https://www.naacpldf.org/wp-content/uploads/2025-01-16-Key-Findings-Memo4.pdf
