John,

It’s time for the Senate to act on voting rights and democracy reform.

This week, the Senate is expected to vote on the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act. But without a rules change, the filibuster will once again be used to block this crucial bill. The procedural filibuster—an outdated Senate loophole that requires a 60-vote supermajority for most legislation—cannot be allowed to stand in the way of voting rights.

Fortunately, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said that if the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act is once again blocked by the filibuster, he’ll hold a vote to revise the rules. President Biden has endorsed changes to the filibuster to pass voting rights and democracy reform legislation, as have hundreds of civil and voting rights and democracy groups, including CREW. That’s good news.

But it’s not all good news—senators still need to be pressured to do the right thing, and to support changes to the filibuster to make the Senate work and pass this critical legislation. We can’t allow a racist relic that was originally used to block civil rights legislation to once again block legislation to protect our democracy.

Your senators need to hear from you. Will you email them now and tell them to support the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act, and to support any needed changes to the filibuster in order to pass the bill?

Our democracy can’t wait. The Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act would protect voting rights, make it harder for political actors to overturn elections, ban partisan gerrymandering, get dark money out of our elections and much more. If the filibuster is standing in the way of allowing much-needed, broadly supported legislation to pass the Senate, and preventing the Senate from functioning, then it has to change. Make sure your senators get that message loud and clear.

Thank you,

Noah Bookbinder
President, CREW

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