AT STAKE

The late Congressman John Lewis risked his life crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge to fight for Black voters and other voters of color to participate in America’s electoral process and the enactment of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

Today, voting rights are under attack across the country by state legislators introducing and passing laws to put up barriers to our participation in elections, especially aimed at Black, Brown and Indigenous voters. Luckily, there are solutions that the federal government can take in order to protect voting rights nationwide and ensure a democracy that works for all Americans. 

This Summer, we are calling on Congress to pass the For the People Act, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, and DC Statehood. As we honor John Lewis one year after his passing, we must recommit to protecting his legacy of protecting the right to vote.

The For the People Act is a once-in-a-generation package of sweeping democracy reforms. The For the People Act would ensure our freedom to vote, get big money out of politics, end partisan gerrymandering to ensure fairly drawn districts, restore government ethics to hold our elected officials accountable, and more. It would also undo many of the racist anti-voter laws that have been passed around the country.

The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would strengthen the freedom to vote for Americans across race and region by making sure that attempts to create barriers to voting that discriminate against voters based on our color or background get federal review, so we all have an equal say in our future.

DC Statehood (S51) is a civil rights issue. The over 700,000 residents of DC, 43% of whom are Black, have no representation in Congress. Residents are taxed without representation, and the district is limited in even creating its own local laws.