Dear friend,

At the beginning of last month and New Year, the one-year anniversary of the violent January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol brought into sharp focus the urgent need to safeguard our democracy.

Hundreds of people, including LCV staffers and supporters who helped organize the event, gathered outside of the U.S. Capitol for a Candlelight Vigil For Democracy — while thousands more gathered in more than 300 similar vigils across the country — in remembrance of that dark day one year ago. Our message to leaders in Congress and state Capitols across the country was clear: Voters decide elections.
 

Less than two weeks later, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we observed and honored the generations-long struggle to secure and strengthen voting rights for all people — especially Black, Indigenous, and Latinx people, young people, and people with disabilities, who are most impacted by voter suppression efforts. LCV joined Dr. King’s family for a march across the Frederick Douglass bridge in Washington, D.C., to call on Congress to honor Dr. King’s legacy by passing federal voting rights and pro-democracy legislation that would ensure free and fair elections for all.

Throughout the last year, LCV has advocated and organized for Congress to pass the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act, the Protecting Our Democracy Act, and the Washington D.C. Admission Act by any procedural means necessary. We will continue to push for free and fair elections until everyone in this country is able to have their voices heard equally.
 
For years, LCV has been pushing for voting rights and democracy reforms because we cannot have a healthy environment without a healthy democracy. And for the first time, LCV has also elevated strengthening democracy to a stand-alone goal in our four-year strategic plan — a priority on par with addressing climate change. We also recently made the unprecedented decision to announce that support of a non-environmental bill is needed in order to even be considered for endorsement to Congress.

Read about this, and more, in this month’s LCV Top 5:  
On January 13, in an unprecedented joint decision, major election and advocacy organizations, including LCV, sent a letter informing Congress that these groups will only consider endorsements for those who take all necessary measures to pass key voting rights and pro-democracy measures. In addition to LCV, the list of groups include Black Voters Matter Fund, Collective PAC, End Citizens United // Let America Vote, and Latino Victory Fund.

This is the first time that LCV’s affiliated political committee, LCV Action Fund, has stated that support of a non-environmental bill is needed in order to even be considered for endorsement. When asked about this decision by The Atlantic, Gene Karpinski, LCV President, said, “I think going forward, particularly when it comes to an issue like voting rights, senators and people who want to be senators need to understand there is only one place to stand to be on the right side of history,”

Read more about LCV’s unprecedented decision and the full letter here.
   
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If you'd like to learn more about these stories, click here for more details.

	THE BEST THING YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW LCV knows that we cannot have a healthy environment without a healthy democracy. And the communities that are most often targeted by voter suppression efforts — including Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and other people of color, as well as young people and people with disabilities — are the same communities who bear the burden of environmental harms affecting our air, water, and climate. The majority of people in this country overwhelmingly support protecting our democracy and want to see bold action on climate change. But we cannot do either without first ensuring that everyone, especially those most affected by climate change and environmental harm, has equal access to the ballot. After the Senate’s failed votes on rules reform and the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act last week, the best thing you can do right now is CLICK HERE and sign our PETITION to demand that Congress not give up on taking action to protect democracy.

• Washington Post: Moderate House Democrats urge Biden to pass climate provisions in Build Back Better.
• E&E: Senate prepares for Biden's Supreme Court nominee
• Sierra Club: It's Do or Die Time for Build Back Better