Today, Congressman Andy Levin, long time human rights and democracy advocate, voted to pass the U.S. House of Representatives' version of the Senate's Amendment to H.R. 5746, the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act. This vehicle ensures that the U.S. Senate must consider critical voting rights legislation.
"It's time for all Senate Democrats to support using our majorities in Congress to send voting rights legislation to President Biden's desk," said Congressman Levin. "We cannot afford to wait any longer to protect our democracy and one of our greatest, most hard-won rights. The same goes for our full agenda for working people. Next, we must abolish the filibuster so Congress can pass climate change policy, commonsense gun reform, workers' rights legislation and so much more."
Voters across the country still face discrimination at the ballot box in the form of unlawful purges, shortened voting hours and the closing of polling places in low-income and minority communities. In 2021, 19 states passed 34 new laws that create barriers to voting. Since the 2020 election, the Brennan Center for Justice has identified at least 389 bills introduced in 48 states that aim to restrict voting access. In Michigan, the state legislature passed three incredibly restrictive voting bills and introduced another 15 bills, which will be voted on in 2022. If the Senate passes this voting rights package, these restrictive voter suppression efforts would be blocked.
Source:https://andylevin.house.gov/media/press-releases/levin-votes-safeguard-voting-rights-all-americans
