This is huge. The Democratic state lawmakers of Texas have left their state en masse in order to stop Republicans from forcing through extreme attacks on voting rights.1 And now, they need us to do our part to get their backs for this courageous act.
Leaving the state was the only way Democrats could deny a quorum to the state legislature—and the only way to stop the latest right-wing voter suppression efforts.2 They have left their families and homes and are risking arrest to head to Washington, D.C., to demand that federal lawmakers act now to protect Americans' freedom to vote.3
This courageous move by Texas Democrats comes just days after a Texas man was arrested for voting. Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton has despicably charged Hervis Rogers with voter fraud because he voted while on parole—not realizing that racist, antiquated laws meant he'd still be barred from democratic participation.4
These attacks on voting rights and voters of color aren't coincidental: In state after state, Republicans are mounting a concerted effort to attack our voting rights, and especially those of people of color and others marginalized by society—a multi-decade effort now fueled further by their adherence to Trump's destructive lies about the 2020 election.
Democrats hold the majority in the U.S. Senate and House—but maybe not for long. Which makes it essential that Democrats in Congress act right now to secure the right to vote, stop the GOP from further rigging our democracy, and undo the Republican rollbacks on voting rights.
Texas Democratic lawmakers are doing their part. Now it's time for Democrats in the U.S. Senate to do the same. The House has already passed the For the People Act, a transformational bill that would secure voting rights across the country and institute other pro-democracy reforms.5
But Senate Democrats are slow to move—mired by Senate protocols and the abuse of the Jim Crow filibuster, a tool that is allowing a minority of senators representing 43% of Americans to overrule the majority of the Senate representing 57% of Americans.6
We're tired of excuses. Texas Democrats are leaving their homes to use every tool at their disposal to fight against these attacks. Democrats in D.C. need to be as bold, inventive, persistent, and unapologetic about securing our freedom to vote.
Just last week, MoveOn joined the Poor People's Campaign to make the phones of key senators ring off the hook, with constituents demanding that they pass the For the People Act, the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, and more. MoveOn members are joining allies at rallies and speak-outs across the country. And we've been turning up the heat—using our social media megaphone, our in-house video team, and our petition tools—to demand action from Democrats in Congress.
The resources are urgently needed to turn up and keep the heat on President Biden, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and all Democrats who need to know that we can't wait, that the time to fight for and secure our freedom to vote is now.
Thanks for all you do.
–Emma, Arvin, Jensine, Seth, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Texas Democrats Flee State to Highlight G.O.P. Voting Restrictions," The New York Times, July 12, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/154589?t=5&akid=301788%2E3735812%2EVx0qGK
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. "Texas man who waited 'over six hours' last Super Tuesday to vote now faces illegal voting charges," CNN, July 11, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/154590?t=7&akid=301788%2E3735812%2EVx0qGK
5. "House passes sweeping voting rights, ethics bill," NBC News, March 3, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/154591?t=9&akid=301788%2E3735812%2EVx0qGK
6. "Republican Senators Haven’t Represented a Majority of Voters Since 1996," New York, February 25, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/154592?t=11&akid=301788%2E3735812%2EVx0qGK
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