John,

In 2020, Black and brown voters turned out in record numbers to demand change―flipping states that had been conservative strongholds for generations. In response, fueled by Donald Trump’s “Big Lie,” Republican-controlled state legislatures have enacted 33 voter suppression bills in 19 states in an attempt to cling to power.

These bills include closing polling centers, purging voter rolls, eliminating and curtailing early and mail-in voting, and gerrymandering Black and brown communities into predominantly white voting districts―all intended to undermine the voting rights of communities of color.

In order to stop these anti-democracy bills from impacting the upcoming midterm and presidential elections, Senate Democrats, with the strong support of President Biden, have vowed to hold a vote on voting rights legislation this week. If Republicans once again block the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act―which would protect and expand our right to vote in the face of relentless attacks on voters―it is critical that Senate Democrats vote to update the Senate rules and create a filibuster carve-out that would allow voting rights legislation to pass with a simple majority of 51 votes.

Join the Coalition on Human Needs and our national allies and sign the petition to the U.S. Senate to pass critical voting rights legislation―and, if necessary, change the filibuster rules to do it.

A filibuster carve-out is not unusual. Just last October, to avoid a default on our country’s debt, the U.S. Senate changed the filibuster rules, allowing the government to raise the debt ceiling without the need for Republican votes.

Now, instead of our economy, it’s our democracy that’s on the line.

Sign the petition: Tell the U.S. Senate to pass critical voting rights legislation to defend our democracy against relentless attacks―and, if necessary, change the filibuster rules to do it.

Thank you for taking action today to protect our democracy from anti-democracy lawmakers who are actively suppressing our right to vote.

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, Coalition on Human Needs