3/6/24
Dozens of groups are urging President Biden to use his State of the Union speech Thursday to pledge to give high priority to voting legislation if he wins reelection.
“We urge you to immediately and publicly ask Congress to send you the Freedom to Vote Act and John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act for signature on Day 1 of your next term,” the groups say in a new letter, which also praises Biden as a leader in defending democracy.
The letter was signed by 44 organizations, including longtime Democratic allies such as Planned Parenthood, the Human Rights Campaign and the League of Conservation Voters. The letter was organized by Democratic Sentry, a group formed to lobby for the two bills.
The bills propose a host of reforms to elections, a response to voting restrictions that Republicans have ushered through at the state level in recent years. The John Lewis Act, named after the late Georgia congressman and civil rights activist, passed the House in 2021 but could not overcome GOP resistance — and the filibuster — in the Senate.
Biden’s administration has continued to push for the bills, with Vice President Harris mentioning both during a civil rights-focused speech Sunday in Selma, Ala. The letter’s signees want to make sure the issue remains front and center as Biden faces a likely rematch against former president Donald Trump, whom Biden has called a threat to democracy.
“I think the White House needs to be reminded that we not only have to talk about the challenges, we have to talk about the solutions,” said Virginia Kase Solomón, president of Common Cause, one of the letter’s signees. “It’s also a way to keep voters energized.”
Read more in the Washington Post
