WASHINGTON, June 24 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement on Wednesday endorsing legislation introduced in the Senate to restore the Voting Rights Act:

“The Supreme Court’s 2013 decision gutting the Voting Rights Act was a shameful step backward. The critical civil rights law which protected voters in places with a history of discrimination is as necessary today as it was in the era of Jim Crow laws. We should do everything possible to guarantee the right to vote, not make it harder for people to cast ballots. That’s why I strongly support the Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2015.”