Voting rights is at the top of lawmakers’ minds for the 2022 midterms, where new redistricting maps will take effect across the country. Already, some of those maps have faced pushback because lawmakers seemingly can’t even be bothered to be subtle about gerrymandering. And according to the Brennan Center for Justice, between the beginning of the year and Sept. 27th, “19 states enacted 33 laws that make it harder for Americans to vote.” More than 450 Congressional seats are up for grabs next November—34 in the Senate and all 435 House seats—making the midterms especially consequential.
To Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, voter suppression is an issue akin to the insurrection and poses a direct threat to our democracy. “Warning lights are blinking red,” Griswold told Reuters. “We are seeing January 6, the attempted stealing of an American presidency, just in slow motion right now. What we're seeing right now is no longer about 2020. It's about 2022 and 2024... so I believe we are at an incredibly urgent time in terms of things that we have to do, that we must do.”
Griswold called on Senate to pass legislation meant to counter voter suppression like the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, both of which have massive support from progressive groups, including Daily Kos. In a letter signed by more than 200 organizations, the Declaration for American Democracy urged lawmakers to immediately reconsider both bills and suspend a planned recess later this month if need be. “The most important step that Congress can take to protect the array of issues our organizations advocate for is to pass these vitally important voting rights bills in order to ensure that all Americans’ voices are heard in our democracy,” the coalition wrote.
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Stacey Abrams, who is running for governor in Georgia, is hopeful about both bills. She recently told Reuters that support for the John Lewis Voting Rights act especially “signals the understanding that we are at a perilous moment in our democracy.”
“I remain very bullish on the possibility of us getting these bills passed. But that means we need to keep talking about it and we need to keep amplifying the real effects of these laws,” Abrams continued. “Any party that uses manipulation of the system as their predicate should be disowned.”
The former Georgia House representative has seen firsthand how restrictive voting laws can impact an election: As a voting rights activist, she’s consistently battled restrictive laws through her Fair Fight PAC and even launched a tool that allows registered voters in Georgia to see if they’re about to be purged from the election rolls. A federal lawsuit and countless other legal challenges have been filed to stop the state of Georgia from enacting discriminatory voting laws. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has fought the Department of Justice at every turn and even filed his own lawsuit against the agency yesterday over an allegedly ignored records request.
Abrams took aim at lawmakers like Raffensperger, who responded to the results of the 2020 election by focusing on voter disenfranchisement: “I think the rub is that this is inconvenient voters who demonstrated in 2020 that not only would they vote at the top of the ticket but they changed elections and changed outcomes throughout the country at the federal, state, and local level. And these have now proven to be inconvenient voters to those who would like to hold to what they have used to build their power.”
There is a way to get every state in the country on the same page when it comes to voting and allow for freer elections: Congress must pass voting rights legislation immediately. Call on lawmakers to take up the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act by signing the petition.
To Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, voter suppression is an issue akin to the insurrection and poses a direct threat to our democracy. “Warning lights are blinking red,” Griswold told Reuters. “We are seeing January 6, the attempted stealing of an American presidency, just in slow motion right now. What we're seeing right now is no longer about 2020. It's about 2022 and 2024... so I believe we are at an incredibly urgent time in terms of things that we have to do, that we must do.”
Griswold called on Senate to pass legislation meant to counter voter suppression like the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, both of which have massive support from progressive groups, including Daily Kos. In a letter signed by more than 200 organizations, the Declaration for American Democracy urged lawmakers to immediately reconsider both bills and suspend a planned recess later this month if need be. “The most important step that Congress can take to protect the array of issues our organizations advocate for is to pass these vitally important voting rights bills in order to ensure that all Americans’ voices are heard in our democracy,” the coalition wrote.
Campaign Action
Stacey Abrams, who is running for governor in Georgia, is hopeful about both bills. She recently told Reuters that support for the John Lewis Voting Rights act especially “signals the understanding that we are at a perilous moment in our democracy.”
“I remain very bullish on the possibility of us getting these bills passed. But that means we need to keep talking about it and we need to keep amplifying the real effects of these laws,” Abrams continued. “Any party that uses manipulation of the system as their predicate should be disowned.”
The former Georgia House representative has seen firsthand how restrictive voting laws can impact an election: As a voting rights activist, she’s consistently battled restrictive laws through her Fair Fight PAC and even launched a tool that allows registered voters in Georgia to see if they’re about to be purged from the election rolls. A federal lawsuit and countless other legal challenges have been filed to stop the state of Georgia from enacting discriminatory voting laws. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has fought the Department of Justice at every turn and even filed his own lawsuit against the agency yesterday over an allegedly ignored records request.
Abrams took aim at lawmakers like Raffensperger, who responded to the results of the 2020 election by focusing on voter disenfranchisement: “I think the rub is that this is inconvenient voters who demonstrated in 2020 that not only would they vote at the top of the ticket but they changed elections and changed outcomes throughout the country at the federal, state, and local level. And these have now proven to be inconvenient voters to those who would like to hold to what they have used to build their power.”
There is a way to get every state in the country on the same page when it comes to voting and allow for freer elections: Congress must pass voting rights legislation immediately. Call on lawmakers to take up the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act by signing the petition.