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Six from SiX is your monthly dose of state news that otherwise didn't make it to your inbox.
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Wait, What’s Actually Going on with Voting Rights?
The news of Texas legislators boldly leaving the state to prevent a massive attack on the freedom to vote has dominated the airwaves, and rightly so. But what is happening in Texas is part of a larger, worrying trend that other states are facing as well—the intentional and dedicated dismantling of the freedom to vote by a conservative faction. State legislators supporting voting rights are standing up in this moment, coming together and demanding national voting rights standards.
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SiX Action Hosts State Legislators, Speaker Pelosi, and Sen. Klobuchar
Yesterday, SiX Action hosted an emergency press call with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senator Amy Klobuchar, and Georgia State Rep. Park Cannon, Michigan State Sen. Erika Geiss, and Ohio State House Minority Leader Emilia Strong Sykes to urge Congress to immediately pass federal voting rights legislation in light of ever-increasing attacks on the right to vote and our democracy. These attacks undermine the American people’s freedom to vote for better jobs, schools, and healthcare. Watch it here.
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State Legislators Sound the Alarm on National Effort to Restrict Voting
State legislators from Georgia, Michigan, and Ohio joined Speaker Pelosi and Senator Klobuchar to call attention to the calculated, targeted and urgent push to restrict voting rights across the country and to call for national voting standards to protect access to the ballot. Conservative factions within state legislatures are pushing detailed and state-specific responses to curb voting access, setting up barriers for specific communities, counties, and demographics.
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Recess Can Wait. Our Democracy Can’t
Amidst a week of action taking place next week (August 2 through 6), state legislators will convene at our nation’s Capitol on Tuesday to demand Congress stay in session, instead of leave for recess, until they pass national voting standards. State legislators interested in participating can learn more and register here.
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The People’s Vote Will Win in Missouri
In a direct example of how crucial democracy is for the issues we all care about, Missourians voted for Medicaid expansion last year. But despite their constituents’ support of the binding resolution, the conservative legislature voted against funding the program, essentially negating the election results. Missouri's Supreme Court recently ruled that the binding resolution is, in fact, binding, and directed the lower court to enter a judgment in support of expanding the program.
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Bold Laws State Legislators Passed This Year
Every legislative session brings its share of twists, turns, and unique hurdles. But 2021 greeted state legislators with an exceptionally challenging session marked by a volatile lame-duck administration, worsening pandemic, and a sluggish economy. Despite unprecedented barriers and growing community needs, state lawmakers delivered victories for working people and even passed laws that seemed unimaginable a few short years ago. This is what legislators can do and should be doing—fighting for their constituents and the betterment of their communities—not taking away the freedom to vote.
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How Black Farmers Have Supported Voting Rights
At first glance, voting rights and farming may seem unrelated. In fact, the two issues have a long and intertwined history. Two Texas legislators, Reps. Eddie Rodriguez and Nicole Collier, are not just fighting for voting rights, they are also fighting for justice for Black farmers. Read their op-ed and see how voting rights, Black farmers and rural voices have been intertwined for decades.
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State Leaders Join Stacey Abrams and John Podesta for Voting Rights Discussion
Democracy Champions AZ Rep. Raquel Téran, FL Rep. Dotie Joseph, GA Rep. Bee Nguyen, PA Rep. Margo Davidson, and TX Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer joined Ari Berman, Stacey Abrams, and John Podesta for a public conversation on how state leaders are combating voting rights attacks and what it’s like to be on the front lines.
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The Anti-Democracy and Anti-Reproductive Health Movements? One and the Same
Despite the overwhelming support for abortion access and reproductive justice, state legislatures have introduced 561 anti-abortion bills in 2021 alone. Why the mismatch? The same legislatures working overtime to pass severe voting restrictions to silence the right to protect democracy are the same legislatures working to pause moving the needle on reproductive justice. The fight against the anti-democracy movement and the anti-reproductive health movement are one and the same.
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