On Tuesday night, I watched with anger and sadness as Black voters in many states went to the polls to demand their voices be heard but were met with long lines and confusion as a result of aggressive, unnecessary curfews targeting ongoing protests for justice.
It should not be this hard for Black people to cast their vote in 2020. And it doesn’t have to be.
With 152 days until the November elections, states are faced with an urgent task: make voting from anywhere accessible to every single voter, and make in-person voting as safe as possible.
In order to make Black lives matter to our government, we must work to hold killer cops and their enablers accountable and protect our ability to vote for people who won’t tolerate such abuses in the first place. As we continue to confront racist violence as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, officials at every level of our government have a moral and legal obligation to protect us so no voter is forced to make an unnecessary choice between their safety or their voting rights. Fortunately, there’s a bill in Congress that will help -- but only if we ramp up pressure on the Senate to pass it.
Tell your Senators to protect our elections now.
The HEROES Act recently passed by the House of Representatives includes much-needed funding that can help states make accommodations that reduce the need to vote in person and make in-person voting as safe as possible.1 If we want to hold free, fair, and safe elections this year, states need this funding ASAP. Tell your Senators to protect our elections now.
The reality is, there are relatively simple steps every state can take to make voting safer and more convenient this year, but states need funding from Congress now in order to implement these changes in time for upcoming elections.
John, what happened on Tuesday does not have to be the reality on November 3rd. Sign now to demand that Congress fully fund safe, accessible voting.
Until justice is real,
Jenni, Sabrina, Arisha, Alex, Cristel, Drew, Charles, Daniel, Scott, Tammi, and the rest of the Color Of Change team
Reference:
1. “How to Save Our Voting Rights During The Pandemic” Rashad Robinson, The Root
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