Hertz/Rader Lecture Series: Voting Rights and Access to the Ballot

March 11: John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the SAVE Act

virtual

March 11 @ 7:00 – 8:30 pm EST | Virtual presentation. Zoom. Free. RSVP https://bit.ly/JLewisandSAVEAct

The League of Women Voters of Vermont, in partnership with Kellogg-Hubbard Library, presents the 2025-26 Hertz/Rader Lecture Series, Voting Rights and Access to the Ballot. 

Sarah Copeland-Hanzas, Vermont Secretary of State, will discuss two bills now before Congress: John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (JLVRAA) and the SAVE (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility) Act. 

The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would modernize and revitalize the Voting Rights Act of 1965, strengthening legal protections against discriminatory voting policies and practices. It would restore the Voting Rights Act’s full power and put guardrails back in place to stop racial discrimination at the ballot box. 

The SAVE Act, which has passed the House on February 11 by a vote of 218-213, requires people who are registering for the first time and those who are re-registering after they move or change their name, to provide proof of U.S. citizenship and will require voters to show photo identification. Additionally, states would run their voter rolls through the Department of Homeland Security’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements database to scan for noncitizens. The bill is now in the Senate awaiting a vote. 

Questions can be sent, in advance to league@lwvofvt.org. 

In its tenth season, the League of Women Voters of Vermont Lecture Series, is designed to bring outstanding speakers to discuss contemporary issues related to democracy and social justice.