Join the Center for American Progress for a conversation between former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) and voting rights experts from Alabama.
Highlighted in the panel discussion is a new issue brief analyzing these same issues and why institutional reforms are needed to protect and uphold the rights of all Americans.
The Center for American Progress is dedicated to continuing the fight to ensure the rights of all Americans are protected and upheld. This pre-recorded discussion in Montgomery, Alabama is the second in a two-part series that discusses the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement, the role of the Senate filibuster in blocking important progress on civil rights, the continued struggle against voter suppression today, and the importance of federal action to protect the right to vote.
Click here to see the first discussion in this series between Sen. Jones and renowned civil rights attorney, Fred Gray.
In many ways, Alabama has defined what the right to vote looks like in the United States. It has been home to some of the most defining voting rights cases in recent history – including the U.S. Supreme Court’s Shelby County v. Holder (2013) and Allen v. Milligan (2023) decisions. Alabamians still struggle to access the ballot box due to restrictive voting policies including those regulating early voting, voting by mail, voter registration and voter list maintenance procedures, as well disenfranchisement laws barring thousands of persons who have served felony convictions from regaining the right to vote.
At the same time, there is federal legislation including the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act that would set basic standards for voting across the country and greatly improve access to voting for millions of Americans – including tens of thousands of Alabamians. However, the Senate filibuster – which has a long history of being used to block critical advances in civil and voting rights – has repeatedly prevented the passage of these critical pieces of legislation that would dramatically reshape what the right to vote looks like in Alabama and protect it for generations to come.
A panel of experts moderated by former Alabama Senator Doug Jones discuss all of these critical issues and the pressing need for federal action.