Every American in this country should have the right to vote. This right to vote is a bedrock of our democracy, and when more people participate in that democracy, it becomes exponentially stronger. But all too often, right-wing elected officials construct barriers to voting because they think it will help them get elected.

In the 1960s, John Lewis and others fought for equal rights and ultimately helped stop discriminatory Jim Crow voting practices – like poll literacy tests and poll taxes. Because of their efforts, we passed the 24th Amendment and the Voting Rights Act to ensure Black Americans and other voters of color could cast ballots without impediment.

But ever since the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed, right-wing interests have sought to undermine it. In a 2013 Supreme Court case, enemies of the Voting Rights Act successfully gutted the law, allowing voter suppression to run rampant. Since then, right-wingers have passed voter ID laws, closed voting precincts in minority neighborhoods, and initiated massive purges of people from voter rolls, all of which depress turnout in poor and minority-majority areas. 

We cannot allow this to continue. With the most important election of our lives happening in 84 days, we urgently need to restore the Voting Rights Act so that all eligible voters are able to cast their ballots.

Please, in honor of civil rights hero John Lewis, who fought for the Voting Rights Act of 1965, will you sign our petition and add your name to demand Congress restore the Voting Rights Act right now?

If we don’t take action, voters – particularly voters of color – will be suppressed, and trickle-downers will win elections they have no right to win.

Thanks for raising your voice,

Paul