Patrick Leahy: “it is alarming to know that voter suppression, which we have worked for decades to overcome, is not a ghost from our…”

“it is alarming to know that voter suppression, which we have worked for decades to overcome, is not a ghost from our past. Suppression efforts are resurfacing--and surging-- in State legislatures across the country. Voter roll purging, out-of- the-way polling stations, and needless barriers to accessing the ballot box are underway and under consideration in jurisdictions across the country. It cannot stand. Under the guise of election integrity, even in the wake of the most secure election in our Nation's history, proponents of these suppressive movements make no effort to hide their targets: African Americans, Latino Americans, college students, low-income voters, the list goes on. Those who do not feel compelled to push against these voter suppression need a lesson in history. Thankfully, a July 27 column in the Washington Post by Norman Lear offers just that insight. Penned on the occasion of his 99th birthday, this decorated American war hero, one of our Nation's Greatest Generation, recalls the pain and betrayal felt by African-American war heroes who fought for democracy abroad, only to be excluded from it at home. He reminds us that it took decades of relentless activism to give millions of minority American voters and others a real voice by finally giving them a vote. And most importantly, he urges all Americans to fight now to protect the right to vote, the very right that gives democracy its name. This is a call to action.…”