Friend,

Last week, the House voted on legislation to reauthorize and restore the Voting Rights Act, the landmark civil rights legislation protecting the right to vote which the Supreme Court gutted in 2013. The bill would restore oversight of states and local governments that have a history of undermining voting rights.

The good news is that it passed with the support of all House Democrats. The bad news is that all but one House Republican voted against it. All but one. It wasn’t always this way. In fact, take a look at House Republicans’ voting record on previous versions of this legislation:

H.R. 6400, the 1965 Voting Rights Act: 112

H.R. 9, the 2006 bill to reauthorize it: 192

H.R. 4, last week's bill to restore it: 1

What changed? Today’s GOP represents a declining number of Americans and it is the modern GOP’s political strategy to make it harder for people to cast their vote. This is especially true of GOP efforts to disenfranchise communities of color.

That says a lot about the Republican party under President Trump. And it says a lot about their extreme and unpopular agenda that they’re fighting a bill that would help more Americans exercise their constitutional right to vote.

If you believe this is wrong and want to see voting rights expanded, not limited, add your name to my petition to demand the Senate take up H.R. 4 to restore the Voting Rights Act now.

Together, we must keep up the fight for our democracy, and it starts with protecting every American’s right to vote.

Thanks,

Adam