At her Town Hall meeting on Monday, Rep. Terri Sewell, D-AL, talked about the importance of fair elections moving forward after the Nov. 6 election.

“This year our democracy faces enormous challenges, from domestic threats posed by modern-day voter suppression to foreign interference in our elections,” she said. “On the House Intelligence Committee, I attended dozens of hearings and interviews to get to the bottom of Russia’s Interference in the 2016 election. I have also introduced two bills- the SHIELD Act and the E-Security Fellows Act- and I passed an amendment to the Intelligence Authorization Act to strengthen cybersecurity in our elections.

“My office is at the forefront of the modern-day fight against voter suppression. As state after state creates new barriers to the polls, including voter ID laws that target minority voter groups, our work to prevent discrimination and protect the rights of all voters has taken on a new urgency. I am proud to be the lead sponsor of the Voting Rights Advancement Act (VRAA), the primary legislation supported by national civil rights advocates and 188 members of Congress.”

Sewell also talked about the importance of protecting historic civil rights sites.

“We are proud of our rich history in Alabama’s 7th District and the progress that our historical sites represent,” said Sewell. “From Selma to Montgomery to Birmingham, the civil rights and voting rights sites in our district are national landmarks. When Congress tried to eliminate the Historic Tax Credit, I introduced an amendment in the Ways and Means Committee to preserve it. Tax reform aimed at growing the economy should not diminish our work to preserve our history. This year we also fought to save the historic Federal Courthouse in Selma, the same courthouse where MLK was jailed and the closest federal courthouse in the Black Belt. We were successful in getting the courthouse off the list of endangered federal buildings and worked with the Southern District Court of Alabama to resume federal trials in the courthouse.”