Friend,

56 years ago today, the 1965 Voting Rights Act went into effect.

By finally enforcing the voting rights guaranteed by the 14th and 15th Amendments, this bill’s passage was the culmination of a democratic struggle that Black Americans had carried from one generation to the next for centuries.

The Voting Rights Act dealt a massive legal blow to Jim Crow laws, and gave Black voters in the South the first real protection against the voter suppression tactics that had been used to disenfranchise them for nearly a century.

But today, this landmark bill has been dramatically weakened by a right-wing Supreme Court that has taken voting rights back decades.

Democratic legislators across the country are sounding the alarm. 18 states have enacted 30 laws that restrict access to voting — and it will only get worse if Congress fails to act.

That’s why today must be a bold day of action to declare that we will not allow voter suppression to drag our democracy backwards once again.

I’m asking: Sign my petition demanding that the Senate pass new voting rights legislation without delay. Our democracy itself is at stake.

Republican legislators have introduced more than 400 voter suppression bills in 49 states this year alone.

Not only are Senate Republicans like Mitch McConnell standing by while state legislatures do this — they helped engineer the attack on voting rights by transforming the federal courts to ensure these voter suppression measures can move forward.

We must not allow history to repeat itself. The fate of American democracy depends on expanding the right to vote — not restricting it for selfish political self-interest.

Add your name to my petition demanding the Senate immediately take up and pass voting rights legislation. This is our constitutional duty.

Thank you for taking action.

— Cory