Two weeks ago, we celebrated the 55th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, which was signed into law five months after “Bloody Sunday,” the famous march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in which civil rights heroes risked their lives in order to secure their right to vote. 

In 2013, the Supreme Court issued a decision that threatens to reverse the gains secured through the physical sacrifice of patriots like John Lewis on the Edmund Pettus Bridge that Sunday in March 1965. The 5-4 decision, titled Shelby County v. Holder and authored by the Court’s Federalist Society-endorsed conservative majority, opened the floodgates for states to pass a series of laws that make it harder for minority communities to vote, including cuts to early voting, draconian voter ID laws, ending Sunday voting, mass purging of voter rolls and the elimination of same-day registration to name a few. 

To fight back against this attempt to reverse the progress of the Civil Rights Movement, House Democrats passed H.R. 4, newly renamed to the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act -- in order to honor his legacy and remind us of our responsibility to protect it.

The great John Lewis, my dear friend, marched and shed blood so that the Voting Rights Act of 1965 could become law. He dedicated his entire life to ensuring that the rights guaranteed by the Constitution could be equally exercised by ALL Americans -- regardless of race. We refuse to go back to the times where minorities were treated like second-class citizens.. We must fight to preserve John Lewis’ legacy; it’s up to each of us to ensure that his work was not in vain. 

I’ve started a petition to demand the Senate pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act -- please sign here if you think the right to vote is as sacred and important as I do!

It’s crucial that we keep the pressure on to protect the Voting Rights Act. We must demand that the Senate pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act! As November approaches, we see the ways that Republican legislators across the country will attempt to suppress the vote. This is not what John Lewis spilled his blood for -- and we must carry the torch and continue the fight. 

I hope you will join me and sign my petition. We need your support now more than ever. The right to vote is precious, and it must not be taken for granted. 

Thank you,

Hank