Election 2020, News, White House Report

Election 2020: Voting Rights on the Ballot

April Ryan
October 9, 2020

Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., the civil rights leader stands beneath a bust of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., as members of the Congressional Black Caucus gather for the memorial ceremony for the late Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019. Rep. Cummings, a Democrat and chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, died Oct. 17 after complications from long-standing health problems. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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There is a massive push to get people to the polls November 3 or to vote early. Americans are voting without the full protection of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Portions of the Act were struck down by the Supreme Court in 2013. After the decision, 25 states changed election protocols in matters of voter access to the polls.

White House Corespondent April Ryan speaks with Congress member Terri Sewell (D-AL) who is working ensure there is no voter suppression. Rep. Sewell passed the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act in Congress. The Act has been stalled in the Senate by Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

Click ▶️ to listen to AURN Washington Bureau Chief April Ryan’s White House Report:

Honor John’s life: Restore the Voting Rights Act and VOTE.
— Rep. Terri A. Sewell (@RepTerriSewell) July 18, 2020

Civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., flanked by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., left, and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., speaks at an event with House Democrats before passing the Voting Rights Advancement Act to eliminate potential state and local voter suppression laws, at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Dec. 6, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

April Ryan has a unique vantage point as the only Black female reporter covering urban issues from the White House, a position she has held with AURN since the Clinton era. Her position as a White House Correspondent has afforded her heightened insight into the racial sensitivities, issues, and attendant political struggles of our nation. April has written three books; The Presidency in Black & White: My Close-Up View of Three Presidents and Race in America, At Mama's Knee: Mothers and Race in Black and White, and Under Fire: Reporting from the Front Lines of the Trump White House. Twitter: @aprildryan