Democratic governors press U.S. Senate to act on voting rights legislation

Seventeen Democratic governors, including North Carolina’s Governor Roy Cooper, are urging the U.S. Senate to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act that are aimed at protecting voting rights. 

“Without decisive action by the federal government this year to protect voters’ access to the ballot and ensure the integrity and transparency of our elections, the voices of Americans across the country, especially Americans of color, will be suppressed,” the governors wrote in a Monday letter to U.S. Senate leaders.

• Since last year, Republican state legislators across the country have introduced nearly 400 voter suppression bills to block voter’s access to the ballot, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
• In North Carolina, Republicans introduced numerous anti-voter bills, including Senate Bills 326, 724 and 725 which are aimed at securing the GOP’s hold on power by any means, regardless of our communities’ need for relief, our state’s recovery or the impact of their discriminatory bills cause.
  
• To counter these voter suppression efforts, the Freedom to Vote Act and John Lewis Voting Rights Act delivers on ending gerrymandering, ensuring election transparency, protecting local election officials and poll workers from right-wing attacks and bolstering voter protections and rights.

The persistent wave of GOP anti-voter bills across the country reflects Republicans’ desire to maintain power, silence our voices and block our trusted election officials from conducting safe and fair elections.

If passed, the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would  create national standards to ensure that we can safely and freely cast our ballots, have our voices heard, and elect leaders who deliver on our priorities.

Our lawmakers must protect our sacred right to vote from the GOP’s malicious anti-voter efforts, and make the promise of democracy real for us all.