Advancement Project National Office: “Passing voting rights legislation will protect right to free, fair, and accessible elections”
Washington, DC — In response to President Biden’s speech in Georgia today on voting rights legislation and the filibuster, Judith Browne Dianis, Executive Director of Advancement Project National Office, issued this statement:
“While President Biden’s speech in Georgia today rings the alarm on voting rights, we need to put out the fire by immediately changing Senate rules on the filibuster to pass voting rights legislation.
“The urgency of this moment cannot be understated. Black voters and other voters of color need concrete action on voting rights immediately. Over 400 state-level bills undermining the right to vote were introduced last year, all of them with the intention of shutting out and shutting up Black, Latinx, AAPI, and Indigenous voters.
“That’s why we filed a lawsuit against the anti-voting rights law in Georgia, where legislators stacked the laws to make it harder, and in many ways impossible, for people of color to have their voices heard.
“Passing sweeping voting rights legislation will protect our right to free, fair and accessible elections and preserve our democracy. This should be one of President Biden’s highest priorities.”
The Metropolitan Atlanta Baptist Ministers Union, an 100+ year old support organization that networks 80+ clergy of Baptist churches predominantly in the greater Atlanta area, is also calling on President Biden to urgently move his former colleagues in the Senate to pass voting rights legislation. The group issued this letter in November.
“Voting is a way that we create change and make progress, both locally and nationally. There are no equal rights without the fundamental right to vote. Anything short of federal legislation to protect this right would undermine the work of the people in our communities who cast their ballots for new leadership last year.
“The White House must use every tool possible to help protect the freedom to vote, including calling for the Senate to end the filibuster. For far too long, the filibuster has been used as a loophole that has allowed a minority to silence our voices and deny our freedoms. It has no place in a just society.”
Judith Browne Dianis, executive director of the Advancement Project National Office, and Reverend Dr. Craig E. White, representing the Metropolitan Atlanta Baptist Ministers Union, are available for interview.
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Advancement Project National Office is a next-generation, multi-racial civil rights organization. Rooted in the great human rights struggles for equality and justice, we exist to fulfill America’s promise of a caring, inclusive and just democracy. We use innovative tools and strategies to strengthen social movements and achieve high impact policy change. Visit www.advancementproject.org to learn more.
