Voting Rights
My personal experiences in Florida in recent elections testify to a simple fact: Voter suppression remains a serious threat to civil rights in 21st Century America. Marathon voting lines for low-income and minority groups, reduced early voting hours, voters purges, and voter registration restrictions, remain endemic. While our nation has made progress since the passage of the Voting Rights Act, voter discrimination remains a reality.
As a result of voters in Florida having to contend with long lines and long wait times to cast their vote on Election Day 2012, I formally requested a review by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).
To read the study, please visit this link: https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-14-850
More on Voting Rights
Miami, FL - Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24), issued the following statement on the passing of community leader and civil rights activist, Mrs. Georgia Jones-Ayers:
"My heart is heavy today. A strong, passionate voice in our community has been silenced. The disenfranchised found a voice through Georgia Jones-Ayers. She dared to make a difference and didn't care who objected to or disagreed with her remarks.
Miami, FL - Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24) issued the following statement:
"The Justice Department decision is disappointing. This decision should embolden us to work and change laws governing investigations of civil rights violations by the federal government.
MIAMI - Congresswoman Frederica Wilson (FL-24) issued the following statement on the 50th anniversary of the historic Selma to Montgomery march that took place on March 7, 1965.
"The historic march from Selma to Montgomery was a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement that led to the passage of the landmark Voting Rights Act that same year. The peaceful walk that resulted in unarmed, innocent men and women being beaten and brutalized by state troopers showed the determination of African-Americans to exercise their constitutional right to vote.
Miami, FL - Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24) and Bishop Victor T. Curry, pastor of New Birth Baptist Church in Miami, are asking churches in District 24 and across Miami-Dade and Broward Counties to engage their congregations in simultaneous prayer at noon on Sunday, June 21, 2015, for the families of the victims of the tragic church shootings in Charleston, South Carolina, the congregants of Mother Emanuel A.M.E. Church and the people of Charleston.
To say that I am deeply disappointed by the Florida Supreme Court's decision to approve the redistricting map drawn by the Fair Districts Coalition is a gross understatement. From the start, I strongly opposed the map known as CP-1 because it strips from District 24 several economic drivers and cultural attractions and threatens to return our community to its former status as the nation's "most suffering" district. CP-1 removes from the district PortMiami, Bayside marketplace, AmericanAirlines Arena, Watson Island, Jungle Island/Parrot Island, and Bayfront Park, to name a few.