Voting Rights Under Attack (7/5/21)

This July 4th weekend, we were struck with the juxtaposition of the usual displays of fireworks and red, white, and blue patriotism with the current assault on the fundamental pillar of our democracy -- the right to vote -- by Republican held state legislatures and the United States Supreme Court. In state legislatures across the country, Republicans have introduced over 400 voter suppression bills as part of an all-out attack on the right to vote. The ACLU spells it out clearly by stating “these laws lead to significant burdens for eligible voters trying to exercise their most fundamental constitutional right. Since 2008, states across the country have passed measures to make it harder for Americans—particularly black people, the elderly, students, and people with disabilities—to exercise their fundamental right to cast a ballot. These measures include cuts to early voting, voter ID laws, and purges of voter rolls.”

And then this week, the Supreme Court further eroded the protections for the right to vote by handing down a ruling in Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee that stated that Arizona did not violate the 1965 Voting Rights Act (VRA). This ruling allows legislatures across the United States to set their own voting laws and further erodes the federal protections in the 1965 Voting Rights Act which had already been weakened by the Supreme Court's decision in 2013 in Shelby v. Holder. Election law professor and author Richard Hasen did not mince words in a New York Times op ed, writing: "In two disturbing rulings closing out the Supreme Court’s term, the court’s six-justice conservative majority, over the loud protests of its three-liberal minority, has shown itself hostile to American democracy." “Today’s decision by the Supreme Court undercuts voting rights in this country,” President Biden said, “and makes it all the more crucial to pass the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to restore and expand voting protections.”

With voting rights under attack across the country and a Supreme Court majority "hostile to American democracy," the most efficient way to protect voting rights would be through federal legislation. Republicans, however, are using the filibuster to block crucial voting rights legislation in the Senate.

Our mission has never been more critical. The Markers For Democracy community needs to continue the work we have been doing since 2018. We know the importance of flipping state legislatures from red to blue. We know that what affects people’s day to day lives happens at the state level. Join our 2021 Giving Circle which is back in Virginia pledging $50,000 to help protect the slim Democratic majority that we helped make happen in 2019. Any donation amount is welcome. Tell your friends and family.

We also need to continue postcarding to turn out the vote in elections all over the country. The more obstacles put in the way of a voter, the more important our get out the vote work becomes. Down ballot races can be won by a handful of votes. Keep the postcards flowing and join us on Zoom for one of our postcarding sessions to meet the candidates and enjoy conversation. Again, tell your friends and family.

Additionally, we need to continue the text banking, phone banking, and postcarding to pressure the Senate to pass the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.

Find the activism that speaks to you and activate it. As President Biden said “Our democracy depends on it.”