Thank you for your work to ensure that voting rights are protected as sweeping voter suppression bills flood statehouses across the nation. We, the undersigned veterans, veteran-led organizations, and allies, are writing to show our strong support for your efforts to pass federal voting rights legislation with the Freedom to Vote Act and end the filibuster to ensure our right to vote is protected.

For combat veterans with PTSD and physical disabilities, early voting and mail-in voting options are a necessity. We are deeply troubled by efforts in state legislatures across the country to restrict those rights. Without these voting options, Election Day for many veterans can be an enormous challenge. Physical injuries may be exacerbated by long waits, and crowded environments can trigger post-traumatic stress, including anxiety or panic attacks.

Veterans who fought and worked to secure democratic elections in Afghanistan and Iraq know at their core how paramount it is that the right to vote in free and fair elections is protected here at home. Veterans living with physical and mental injuries after serving our country abroad should not have to choose between their vote and their mental health.

Furthermore, veterans swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, which includes the right to vote in free and fair elections. We did not swear an oath to protect the filibuster. This provision has been used repeatedly since the 1960s to block critical civil rights and voting rights legislation and prevent citizens from voting on the basis of race. As you know, this is a direct violation of the Fifteenth Amendment. We urge you to reform the filibuster and pass the Freedom to Vote Act.

Thank you again for your ongoing work to protect veterans’ rights, pass this historic voting rights legislation, and safeguard our democracy for generations to come.