Throughout its history, the United Church of Christ has long witnessed to the importance of voting rights as a foundational civil rights issue. Voting is often described as the heart of the democratic process. It is the most fundamental access point for individuals, giving each of us a voice in the public policy decision-making process. The people we elect shape the future of our local, regional, national and global collective life. A robust democracy with a vibrant marketplace of ideas and policy approaches will make us stronger. This means expanding and strengthening voting rights and access; not restricting it.
Seven years ago this month, the Supreme Court gutted key provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act in its Shelby County v Holder decision. We are quickly approaching the second presidential election in which we have less voting protections than we did in 1965. This is simply unconscionable.
In addition to years of voting rights rollbacks and voter suppression in the wake of the Shelby decision, we are now faced with the impact of COVID-19 on our electoral process. Waiting to act is not an option. States need adequate time and funding to implement changes so that people can have their ballots counted in November.
The fourth COVID-19 relief package, the HEROES Act, passed the House of Representatives and is now stalled in the Senate. Provisions of the HEROES Act would provide an additional $3.6 billion to state and local election officials to improve election infrastructure and implement safety plans for polling places. It would also expand early voting, same-day registration, "no excuse" absentee ballots and expanded mail-in voting.
Congress has starved state and local communities of the resources they need to run free, fair and accessible elections. We have seen widespread polling place closures, long lines with hours-long waits, a backlog of absentee ballot requests and machine breakdowns in several state primaries. This is a wake-up call for the November elections. Congress must pass the HEROES Act now to provide state and local officials the critical resources to ensure we have safe, fair, and accessible elections in November.
TAKE ACTION
Once you've taken action, visit the Our Faith Our Vote website at ourfaithourvote.org, for tools on issue education, to check your voter registration, for worship resources around the elections and more!