Dear Friend,

One year ago today, we witnessed firsthand an attack on our country: an insurrection by political extremists at the U.S. Capitol.

I was in Washington D.C., blocks from the Capitol building, which I can see from my office. I watched on television along with the rest of the country as throngs of violent protesters, intent on stopping the certification of the 2020 presidential election, defaced our government and threatened the very core of our democracy. I knew that it was a pivotal moment for America and our fundamental promise of free and fair elections.

We’re one year out from that horrible day, and Congress has yet to pass meaningful reforms to secure the right to vote and the integrity of our elections. Meanwhile, states and counties are passing their own laws meant to disenfranchise voters and undermine those who are responsible for counting votes and running fair elections. If we care about our democracy and our way of life, we can’t sit idly by.

The Senate is considering major voting rights legislation that will protect both the right to vote and election integrity. Your community and your senators need to hear from you today—on the anniversary of the attack on our democracy—about why we need the Senate to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. The House of Representative has already passed these bills. We cannot let the Senate’s procedural hurdles stand in the way of protecting our democracy.

Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper(s) telling them why we must act now on democracy. Make your voice heard.

As Congress continues to investigate the attack on the Capitol, I want to be clear that our commitment to democracy is as strong as ever. As a civics teacher, I taught my students about how our system works. We don’t have to like the outcome of every election to respect and embrace the process. One of the many great things about America is that, despite our differences, we believe in peaceful protest, peaceful transfer of power, and the right to vote.

But that’s what’s at stake now: A former president, enabled by a growing cadre of extremists, continues to this day to cast doubt on the 2020 election. And in their quest for power, that same political faction wants to pass laws that stop people from voting. I can’t think of anything more grotesquely undemocratic and un-American than that. In this country, the voters choose who represents them; the politicians don’t get to choose who votes. That’s why we must pass legislation to stop them from disenfranchising millions of people before the next election.

Click here to send a letter to the editors of publications in your area about why protecting our democracy and our voting rights needs to be a top priority for your senators.

Fighting for our democracy by passing voting rights legislation is one of the most important actions you can take on the anniversary of this attack on our country.

In unity,
Randi Weingarten
AFT President

P.S. : I posted a longer reflection on the anniversary and Jan. 6. Click here to read it.