URGENT ACTION NEEDED: Protect Voting Rights

Voting rights of the people are under attack and federal legislation is urgently needed to protect them. In the past year, many states have already enacted laws that make it harder for people to vote. It is crucial that federal legislation is passed to ensure that barriers to voting are removed for all voters, regardless of party affiliation or political orientation.  

Unfortunately, the largest obstacle to passing meaningful voting rights legislation is the antiquated filibuster rule of the Senate. It should only take a simple majority vote in the Senate to enact legislation that a majority of the American people support. 

In order to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021, the filibuster rules must be changed. 

“We are calling on all APWU members to contact their Senators and urge them to do whatever it takes to pass this critical legislation,” said APWU President Mark Dimondstein. “The voting rights of working people depend on it.” 

“A person's ability to vote should not be based on their race, where they live, or political party preference,” said Legislative and Political Director Judy Beard. “Voting laws should be federally governed, making it easier to vote, not harder.  Every eligible voter should be able to vote and know their vote counts”.    

Here is what federal voting rights legislation would accomplish: 

Freedom to Vote Act, S. 2747 

• Outlaw partisan gerrymandering 

• Make Election Day a public holiday 

• Expand voting access and reduce long lines and wait times for voters by allowing for no-excuse vote-by-mail and early voting 

• Restore full voting rights to those who have completed felony sentences 

• Require states that have a voter I.D. requirement to accept different forms of I.D., such as bank statements 

• Reform our broken and corrupt campaign finance system 

• Place limits on purging voters from voter rolls 

• Prohibit the dissemination of election misinformation 

John Lewis Voting Rights Act, S.4 

• Protecting against racial voter discrimination 

• Re-establishing “preclearance,” the federal oversight that would prevent any states or localities with a recent history of voter discrimination from restricting the right to vote, dismantled by the 2013 decision in Shelby County v. Holder 

• Protecting access to the ballot box for all voters, regardless of race or the language they speak 

• Restoring the right of voters to challenge discriminatory laws, a process made more difficult by the Court’s 2019 decision in Brnovich v. DNC 

APWU members can be connected to their Senators’ office by calling the APWU Legislative Hotline at 844-402-1001