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Honoring the Voting Rights Act by fighting for fair maps and full access in Ohio • Ohio Capital Journal [1]
['Deidra Reese', 'Marilou Johanek', 'Tim Feran', 'More From Author', 'August', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar']
Date: 2025-08-07
Sixty years ago, on Aug. 6, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law. This was one of the most transformative pieces of legislation in modern American democracy. This year, we commemorate the landmark law’s 60th anniversary, and we are reminded how far we have come and how far we must still go.
In Ohio and across the nation, the battle for equitable access to the ballot continues. We see this battle play out today through redistricting and voter suppression.
The VRA outlawed discriminatory practices like literacy tests and poll taxes, which dramatically increased Black voter registration and political representation in the South and beyond. It represented a federal commitment to ensuring that states could not construct laws around racially discriminatory voting.
But while the VRA cemented protections on paper, the struggle to enforce and extend those protections never ended.
Today in Ohio, voter suppression efforts have evolved into new forms, including restrictive voter-ID laws, burdens on absentee ballot access, and manipulation of district maps that dilute minority voting strength.
Redistricting is at the heart of today’s fight. Ohio is legally mandated to redraw congressional district maps this year.
When district lines are drawn to pack and crack voters based on race and political affiliation, the power of communities of color is minimized.
Our organization and many allies participated as relators in The Ohio Organizing Collaborative, et al. v. Ohio Redistricting Commission, challenging legislative maps that undercut fair representation and disproportionately eroded Black voting influence.
Gerrymandering is a barrier that prevents Ohio voters from having power over their elected officials and echoes the spirit of the 1960s-era poll taxes that were designed to exclude.
Just like with literacy tests, these modern hurdles operate in cumulative ways.
Confusing rules about absentee-ballot rules, ever-narrowing polling windows, and one early-vote per county, whether there are 12,545 people or 1,326,063 people or 702 miles or 228 miles, compound to suppress the power of Ohio voters.
To understand how these modern barriers impact everyday Ohioans, consider what happens right here in Franklin County.
In neighborhoods across Columbus, like Linden, the South Side or Hilltop, residents have experienced years of disinvestment, only to now face political disempowerment through gerrymandered maps that dilute their collective voice.
Some voters were moved into new districts mid-cycle, creating confusion and cutting them off from trusted elected representatives. Others reported getting mixed messages about early voting hours or absentee rules.
These are not isolated issues; rather, they are systemic tactics designed to suppress.
This anniversary should be about celebrating the legacy of progress and achievement regarding voting rights and democracy being accessible to all.
Instead, it MUST be about organizing, mobilizing, and reclaiming the promise of a fair democracy.
We believe voters have the power to shape policy, even through the redistricting process.
The antidote to suppression is civic engagement, and that stretches beyond just turnout.
Today’s anniversary is more than a commemoration. It’s a call to action.
The VRA began a conversation about federal responsibility to protect voting rights. Now it is up to us to renew that contract.
That means pushing for state and federal legislation to restore the Voting Rights Act protections. It means safeguarding early voting, absentee access, and equitable district-drawing. Most of all, it means organizing communities to know their rights and use them.
I stand inspired by the spirit of 1965 and committed to building a democracy that honors that legacy.
As we mark the VRA’s 60th year, let’s reaffirm our resolve. We will continue to fight to dismantle suppression, demand fair maps, and educate and empower Ohioans so that every voice can be heard, every vote counted, and every district drawn more fairly.
We did not arrive at this moment by chance, and we won’t move forward without intention.
The arc of voting rights history is long, and it demands not only memory but movement.
We owe it to the foot soldiers of Selma, to Fannie Lou Hamer, to John Lewis, and to every Ohioan who has stood in line for hours, determined to cast a ballot despite these barriers.
We owe it to ourselves to protect the future of our democracy, starting now.
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