John,
2020 will be the most consequential election of our lifetimes, and in no small part it’s because the right to vote itself is on the ballot.
From pushing misinformation about vote-by-mail, to closing thousands of polling places, to passing deliberately burdensome voter ID laws, President Trump and members of the GOP have sought to weaken Americans’ right to vote for one simple reason - they fear that if Americans could vote easily, they would vote against the GOP’s extreme agenda.
Trump said so himself. If more people voted, Trump said, “you’d never have a Republican elected in this country again.”
My friend and colleague Congressman John Lewis passed away this weekend, leaving a legacy of fighting fearlessly for the right to vote, whether it was being beaten nearly to death as a young man marching across the Edmund Pettus Bridge or serving as the moral authority and conscience of the House of Representatives. Want to know the best way to honor John’s legacy?
Pass the Voting Rights Advancement Act to preserve and strengthen the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Last December, John presided over the House when we voted to pass this legislation, which would give the VRA teeth again when it comes to enforcing the law and preventing voter discrimination, especially in communities of color that are the target of so many blatant voter suppression efforts.
Sadly, that bill, like so many, is stuck in Mitch McConnell’s legislative graveyard in the Senate.
We must make it easier – not harder – for Americans to vote and make their voices heard in our democracy, especially in the midst of a dangerous pandemic.
Join me in demanding the Senate do the right thing and finally take up a vote on the Voting Rights Advancement Act now.
If John Lewis taught us anything, it’s that we must never let our guard down when protecting the right to vote. Together, let’s keep up the fight.
– Adam
