May 8 marked the National John Lewis Voting Rights Action Day. Across the country, voting rights advocates gathered in-person through “votercades” and online to call for passage of the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. This call to action comes at a pivotal time for protecting the integrity of democracy and voting rights. Analysis conducted by the Brennan Center for Justice reports that state legislators have introduced 361 measures restricting voter rights in 47 states as of March 24, a 45 percent increase in just over a month.
Throughout its history, the United Church of Christ has long witnessed to the importance of voting rights as a foundational civil rights issue and the way be which we honor the dignity and worth of every human being. Voting is often described as the heart of the democratic process. The people we elect shape the future of our local, regional, national and global collective life. Democracy works best when we put in place the guardrails that ensure every American has an equal opportunity to make their voice heard and be fairly represented.
The 2013 Supreme Court decision in Shelby v Holder gutted key provisions of the historic 1965 Voting Rights Act protecting voters from states and municipalities making discriminatory changes for voter laws without the oversight of the Department of Justice. Within hours after the decision was issued, a host of states put forward a number of restrictive voter rights laws, such as stricter voter ID requirements, expanding voter roll purges and cutting back on early voting.
In 2021, we are seeing a resurgence of attempts to restrict the rights of voters, including barriers to voting by mail, restricting the use of drop boxes and even handing out water to voters waiting in line. Taken together these efforts to restrict voting rights and access to the polls disproportionately affect low-income workers, communities of color, senior citizens, students, people living with disabilities and veterans.
The For The People Act, a comprehensive election reform bill, and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would restore the provisions gutted by the Supreme Court in its 2013 decision are two critical ways we can defend our democratic process and the right of every American to have their voice heard and counted in the electoral process.
As civil rights giant John Lewis himself declared, 'too many people have struggled, suffered and died to the right to vote.' A strong, vibrant democracy must move forward, not backward. Contact your Senators and urge them to defend our democracy by supporting the For The People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.