Leader McConnell, Let Us Vote

The day after our nation commemorated the 54th anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma, Ala., the House of Representatives passed H.R.1, the For the People Act, to strengthen voting rights, take big money out of politics, and clean up corruption on Capitol Hill. Before the vote on March 8, Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a foot soldier for civil rights who marched in Selma, implored lawmakers to recognize their moral responsibility to restore access to democracy…. Democracy is foundational to America’s highest values. From its base grow equity and justice, and freedom and opportunity. But when people’s voices are blocked from civic participation — as they increasingly are today — our hard-won progress becomes vulnerable. Americans are hungry for change. State by state, voters cast their ballots last November for measures like automatic voter registration, redistricting reform, and rights restoration for formerly incarcerated people. The For the People Act would implement those changes nationwide. It would also create a small donor matching system for funding campaigns, which would empower everyday Americans and lift up the historic number of candidates who have pledged to take no corporate PAC money…. When our democracy is closed to the people, we cannot make progress on civil and human rights issues like immigration, affordable health care, educational equity, and economic security. Similarly, without government accountability and transparency, the people lose their power to ensure lawmakers represent their interests. The government in turn loses legitimacy among the people. When our democracy is in peril, so too are our civil rights. The For the People Act offers a transformative vision for democracy that puts the American people and our shared values first. Importantly, it also commits to restoring the heart of the Voting Rights Act. Rep. Lewis was beaten and bloodied as he crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma for daring to expand access to our political process. Fifty-four years later, we are again at a crossroads — and not one of politics, but of what is right and just. Leader McConnell, let the senators vote.