It was July of 2006.

Not even 16 years ago.

Congress reauthorized the Voting Rights Act — which was initially passed in 1965, during the height of the Civil Rights movement, to prohibit racial discrimination in voting.

The Senate voted 98 to 0 to reauthorize the landmark legislation (two senators did not vote).

Not one Republican voted against reauthorizing the Voting Rights Act in 2006.

Before that, the Voting Rights Act was reauthorized in 1982.

And in 1975.

And in 1970.

Every time, the vote in Congress was overwhelmingly bipartisan.

Every time, the legislation was then signed into law by a Republican president.

In fact, there are 16 Republicans in the Senate right now who were in Congress (House or Senate) in 2006 and supported the Voting Rights Act:

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (Tennessee)
Sen. Roy Blunt (Missouri)
Sen. John Boozman (Arkansas)
Sen. Richard Burr (North Carolina)
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (West Virginia)
Sen. Susan Collins (Maine)
Sen. John Cornyn (Texas)
Sen. Mike Crapo (Idaho)
Sen. Lindsey Graham (South Carolina)
Sen. Chuck Grassley (Iowa)
Sen. Jim Inhofe (Oklahoma)
Sen. Mitch McConnell (Kentucky)
Sen. Jerry Moran (Kansas)
Sen. Richard Shelby (Alabama)
Sen. John Thune (South Dakota)
Sen. Roger Wicker (Mississippi)

Yet every one of those 16 senators — who, again, supported voting rights legislation in the past — has, so far, failed to support the Freedom To Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.

Both bills are absolutely critical if we’re going to maintain our democracy (especially since the Voting Rights Act has been gutted by right-wing members of the Supreme Court).

We’ve put a lot of work into winning support from Democrats for both bills and for changing Senate rules so that an anti-democracy minority can’t block them.

But Republicans, if they truly believe in democracy, should support both bills, too — especially those who previously supported the Voting Rights Act.

Join me in reminding these 16 Republican senators that they once — not so long ago — recognized how fundamental voting rights are and that they have a duty to put democracy before party.

Add your name now.

Thank you for taking action.

For democracy,

- Robert Weissman, President of Public Citizen

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