Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleagues in supporting S. 2747, the Freedom to Vote Act; and S. 4, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act; and S. 2615, the Right to Vote Act. As some States and political operatives around the country seek to roll back voter protection laws and gerrymander voting districts, Congress must act to strengthen the freedom to vote and ensure elections are safe and accessible. Since its original passage in 1965, the Voting Rights Act safeguarded the rights of historically marginalized voters at the polls. Sadly, the U.S. Supreme Court's 2013 ruling in Shelby County v. Holder gutted key Voting Rights Act protections. Earlier this year, in July 2021, the Supreme Court issued another split ruling further weakening the law in its decision in Brnovich v. DNC, making it more difficult to challenge discriminatory voting laws under section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Over the years, this democracy has seen a crisis in access to the polls, and it has been worsened recently as Republican-led State legislatures have implemented policies that disproportionately suppress the voting rights of people of color, the elderly, college students, and those living in rural areas, among others. Those same political operatives have repeatedly weaponized false claims of election fraud, like those perpetuated by former President Trump, to try to overturn the will of the people.…”