U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte renewed his opposition Monday to calls to update the Voting Rights Act — just days ahead of a protest rally that voting rights activists are organizing in his district.

“The fact of the matter is we have a Voting Rights Act; it is very strong,” Goodlatte, R-Roanoke County, said in an interview after speaking at a local business event.

“We are certainly willing to look at any new evidence of discrimination if there is a need to take any measures. But at this point in time, we have not seen that, and therefore no changes have been made since the Supreme Court decision.”

Thursday is the second anniversary of the high court’s Shelby County v. Holder ruling, which scrapped the decades-old formula used to determine which state and local governments — because of a history of voting-related discrimination — had to submit to federal review or “preclearance” on election issues.

In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court concluded the formula was outdated and had “no logical relationship” to present-day conditions. The ruling freed nine states, including Virginia, from the obligation to get federal approval on decisions ranging from redistricting changes to voter registration regulations.

The underlying power of preclearance remains on the books, and a handful of places still fall under the requirement because of court orders.

But Congress has declined to update the broader formula used to apply the requirement. Bills proposing new criteria have been referred to the House Judiciary Committee, which Goodlatte chairs, but not acted on.

In a statement, Wade Henderson, president of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said voting rights are more vulnerable now than at any time in the 50 years since the landmark Voting Rights Act was passed.

“Since the Shelby decision two years ago, politicians across the country have passed laws and adopted practices that discriminate against voters of color, language minority voters and voters with disabilities, making it harder for them to register and to vote,” said Henderson.

“As House Judiciary chairman, Rep. Goodlatte should hold a hearing to review this evidence, which has only grown since then,” he said.

On Thursday, to mark the Shelby County v. Holder anniversary, advocates from the leadership conference and more than two dozen other groups plan to rally at Elmwood Park in Roanoke in support of restoring the full weight of the Voting Rights Act.

Organizers said participants will be coming from across Virginia, as well as North Carolina and Washington, D.C. The rally is set to begin at 1 p.m. and expected to feature a long roster of speakers — including local figures state Sen. John Edwards, D-Roanoke, Brenda Hale of the Roanoke Branch NAACP, Rabbi Kathy Cohen of Temple Emmanuel and Rebecca Shankman of the League of Women Voters of Virginia.

Henderson said it’s crucial for citizens to hold Goodlatte and other congressional leaders accountable for “ignoring the responsibility to act” to protect voting rights.

Goodlatte, in his remarks Monday, said he believes it’s vital for the Voting Rights Act to be “alive and well.”

But he reiterated he feels the law is already sufficient as is, and noted voters and the U.S. Department of Justice can take legal action under the Voting Rights Act if violations occur.

“There are still strong protections under the Voting Rights Act, including the ability of a judge to order that a community or even a whole state be placed under the preclearance requirements if there are new evidences of discrimination,” he said.