Thank you for helping Fighting For Our Vote communicate the urgent need for the Senate to change the rules in order to pass voting rights legislation. Please use this resource to help guide your conversations with reporters, partners, and more.
Fighting for Our Vote is a coalition of our nation’s most prominent civil rights and labor organizations, including the NAACP, ACLU, NEA, AFSCME, and AFT, driving our networks on the ground to defend voting rights ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. ★ Last month, we released scorecards grading senators on their actions on the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the For the People Act, as well as their efforts to eliminate the filibuster. ★ These scorecards were civil rights organizations’ way of sending a clear message to senators: we are watching these elected officials closely, and will hold them accountable to protecting the foundation of our democracy. Since the scorecard release, several senators have re-strategized and publicly committed to prioritizing passing voting rights legislation. Now is the moment to ensure that the US Senate can consider, debate, and pass the bills that will protect our democracy. ★ We are long overdue for voting rights protections afforded to us by previous Congresses and Administrations on a bipartisan basis. ★ The right to vote is not a political issue, it is the basis of our entire Democracy. In 1965, 62% of Senate Republicans voted in favor of the VRA. In 2021, only one Republican supported voting rights. ★ The 15th Amendment to the Constitution guarantees our right to vote regardless of race or creed. Invoking obscure Senate rules to deny our constitutionally protected rights is un-democratic and un-American. We cannot afford to wait one more day to ensure that all Americans can participate fully in our political process. ★ In the last year, we have witnessed an unprecedented number of subversive tactics employed by anti-voter interests across the country aimed at curbing voting power—disproportionately so in Black and brown communities. ★ This massive effort to silence voters demands urgent action. Voting Rights are Civil Rights. ★ Nothing is more important than voting rights when it comes to eradicating systemic racism and inequality. ★ Until we have equal access to the ballot, we cannot make progress on any other issue. Making progress on climate change policy, cancelling student debt, reproductive rights, etc...all start with ensuring that every American can have their ballot cast safely, conveniently, and equally. There is no time to waste. The White House and Senators must do what it takes to pass voting rights legislation. ★ If the Senate can change the rules to pass the debt ceiling, they can do it for voting rights. Democrats and Republicans alike must recognize that the cornerstone of our democracy is at stake, and use every tool in their arsenal—including a filibuster carveout—to pass protections. ★ Democracy is a principle which we must continue to cherish and protect, not a partisan tool to be wielded against Americans.
Thanks to Presiding Bishop Marvin F. Thomas, Sr. of the Second Episcopal District for sharing this information.
