John,

Two years ago today, I was preparing remarks regarding President Biden’s victory in the 2020 election. Little did I know, the events that day would go down in history as a stain on our democracy.

I still vividly remember getting the message from security: Stay in your office. DO NOT GO TO THE HOUSE FLOOR.

That’s when I realized that rioters were storming the Capitol building, entering through broken windows to wreak havoc. They had been fed lies that the 2020 election was “stolen”, and they sought to attack our democratic process and overturn the results. Donald Trump and his cronies unabashedly spread far-right conspiracy theories, inciting the mob of violent insurrectionists.

John, I’ll never forget the feeling that day – concern for my colleagues and my country –  as the rioters attempted to break down the doors being barricaded by Capitol Police. Those brave men and women put down the attack on our Capitol on January 6th, but to be clear, the attacks on our democracy did not start or end on January 6th, 2021. Around the country and here in Georgia, Republican elected officials have passed voter suppression measures and taken administrative power away from non-partisan election officials, all under the guise of “election integrity”.

In reality, many of these far-right extremists have shown that they’ll cheat to win, subverting our democratic ideals to get the desired result they want.

In 2023, I'll continue to advocate for voting access, working to ensure that all voters in Georgia and across the country can make it to the polls. Free and fair elections are the backbone of this country, and we must stand together to send a clear message that these attacks on democracy will not be tolerated.

History teaches us that we must learn from our mistakes or we are doomed to repeat them. I hope and pray that we Americans will learn from what happened on January 6th, 2021.

Thanks for reading,
Lucy McBath