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For Rep. G.K. Butterfield, the fight for voting rights goes way back

Political Theater, Episode 135

Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., arrives to the Capitol for the House vote on an impeachment inquiry resolution on October 31, 2019. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., arrives to the Capitol for the House vote on an impeachment inquiry resolution on October 31, 2019. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call) (CQ Roll Call)

The struggle to ensure people have access to the ballot box is one that G.K. Butterfield and his family have been involved in dating back to the early 20th century.

The North Carolina Democrat’s history in Wilson, N.C., is indelibly shaped by his immigrant father and his decadeslong advocacy on behalf of Black suffrage in a place notoriously resistant to it.

It extends through Butterfield’s own place in the civil rights era, and continues to the present day with his own legislative priorities, particularly a voting rights bill the House has passed that awaits action in the Senate.

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