Fearing that recent Trump administration initiatives threaten gains made under the Voting Rights Act of 1965, civil rights activists gathered Wednesday in Newark on the 60th anniversary of the landmark law’s signing to call for passage of state and federal legislation meant to protect access to the polls.

“Here we are, 60 years after the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and we’re fighting the same thing,” Larry Hamm , founder and chairman of the People’s Organization for Progress, said during a mid-day press conference outside the Peter Rodino Federal Building on Broad Street. “We’re fighting voter suppression. We’re fighting racist gerrymandering.”

Hamm was referring an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on March 25, titled “Preserving and Protecting the Inte

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