John,

President Biden’s speech in Atlanta calling on the Senate to do what it takes to pass a voting rights bill was a timely stroke of leadership. Joe Biden has spent most of his life as a US Senator. He understands and reveres the Senate as an institution. But he also knows that ensuring the fundamental right to vote and protecting our democracy is far more important than misplaced nostalgia for an anachronistic Senate rule like the filibuster.

That’s what this comes down to. Any Senator who claims to support voting rights but won’t change the filibuster doesn’t really support voting rights. President Biden is calling them out for this, and he’s absolutely right.

While voting rights used to be broadly bipartisan, the sad truth is that Republicans have now fully embraced a dark agenda of voter suppression and subverting free and fair elections. They believe having fewer people vote increases their chance of winning, and they have no qualms about trying to override or nullify elections when they lose. So GOP-controlled state legislatures are doing everything in their power to rig the deck. Over the last year alone, 19 states have enacted 34 laws making it harder to vote, and several have passed laws empowering GOP political operatives to override election officials.

As President Biden put it, it’s time to stop being quiet. This threat is real, it's growing, and it’s fundamental not just to our democratic values but to democracy itself. This is the time to raise our voices and demand that the Senate take immediate action to protect our voting rights and our democracy.

You know me — I don’t sound the alarm about just anything. Today, I am asking you to add your voice to the chorus of Americans calling on Senators Manchin and Sinema to do what the President is asking, what the House has already done, and what 48 of their Senate colleagues are ready to do: change the filibuster and bring voting rights to the Senate floor for a vote. Now!