It was 56 years ago today.

• On August 6, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed the landmark Voting Rights Act into law.

• For nearly half a century, that historic legislation — which Congress strengthened many times on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis — made true multiracial democracy in our country possible.

• But in 2013, the Supreme Court gutted a key provision of the Voting Rights Act — with Chief Justice John Roberts ruling, incredibly, that racial discrimination in voting is a thing of the past. Then, just over a month ago, the Republican Justices severely weakened another key provision of the law.

• All across America, Trumpist legislators are pushing racist, anti-democratic voting restrictions with the blatant intent to tilt elections in favor of Republican candidates.

• Republicans have jammed through at least 30 voter suppression laws in 18 states since Election Day, and they are pushing literally hundreds more in nearly every state in the country.

The For the People Act (a.k.a. H.R.1/S.1) would fight the Republican Party’s racist, anti-democratic assault on our democracy by strengthening the right and ability to vote, ending partisan gerrymandering, getting billionaires and Big Business out of elections, and more.

In the coming days, we expect all Senate Democrats to unite behind a compromise version of the For the People Act.

But with Republicans remaining lock-step opposed, it won’t pass the Senate until there’s agreement to set aside or bypass the filibuster — the archaic Senate procedure that demands 60 votes, not a simple majority, to pass most legislation — and protect voting rights.

The idea that an arbitrary Senate procedure would stand in the way of defending the right to vote and our democracy itself is hard to fathom.

Solving the filibuster problem requires the leadership of President Biden.

President Biden must publicly state that voting rights and democracy are more important than the filibuster, and he must call for the filibuster to be set aside so the For the People Act can become law.

To President Biden:

Mr. President, our democracy is facing an existential threat. Over half a century ago, President Johnson took the courageous step of signing the 1965 Voting Rights Act into law. Now our democracy needs that kind of courage from you as well. Please do everything in your power to bring all 50 Democrats in the Senate together to set aside or bypass the filibuster and pass the For the People Act as soon as possible.

Add your name.

Thanks for taking action.

For democracy,

- Robert Weissman, President of Public Citizen

P.S. For half a century, Public Citizen has been advancing policies that put the needs of everyday Americans before the greed of billionaires and Big Business. That legacy of progress and that ongoing work could not matter more right now, as our nation transitions to a Joe Biden presidency that will be as progressive as we — you and Public Citizen, together — make it. We’re also busy undoing all the damage Trump did. And, like so many nonprofits and small businesses, we continue to experience financial strain related to the coronavirus pandemic. If you can, please make an emergency donation today to support the critical work we’re doing together or even join our popular Monthly Giving program. Thank you.
 
 
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