From the Coalition on Human Needs (http://www.chn.org):
The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which passed the House in late August, was blocked once again in the U.S. Senate.
In a democracy, there is nothing more important than protecting the right to vote. The ballot box is the most effective way for citizens to hold politicians accountable and prioritize the issues we are fighting for together: lowering the cost of healthcare and prescription drugs, responding to Covid, creating good-paying jobs, reducing childhood poverty, fighting for legislation that lifts up families that are falling through the cracks, and so much more.
But Mitch McConnell and his Republican allies will use every trick in the book to prevent this essential legislation from even being voted upon―and that’s just what they did on Wednesday. That’s why we must reform the Senate filibuster which allows a relatively small number of senators to block every single piece of legislation from moving through Congress.
Go to https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-the-senate-pass-the-john-r-lewis-voting-rights-advancement-act-and-reform-the-filibuster-if-necessary to join CHN in demanding the Senate reform its outdated rules so we can strengthen our democracy and pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. Send a message to your senators today!
Just think about it: does it make sense in a democracy that a minority of senators can band together and block needed legislation for our entire country?
That makes no sense, yet that is what the current Senate rules allow.
Together, we are demanding the Senate move into the 21st century and reform their outdated rules so we can pass critical legislation to protect our democracy starting with the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. We can’t sit back and watch while state after state passes legislation designed to suppress the vote.
If this critical voting rights legislation continues to be blocked by Republicans who are manipulating outdated Senate rules to their advantage, millions of Americans will find it exponentially harder to cast their votes.
These are challenging times, and there are no shortages of major challenges to address. Thank you for all that you do to demand a future that includes all of us.
B David Smith
Pass the John Lewis voting rights bill. It is an appropriate thing to do!