Our freedom to vote is under an alarming and coordinated attack, the likes of which we have not seen since the Jim Crow era. Despite broad public support and the grassroots activism of tens of thousands of everyday Americans, including Nevadans, Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona joined all 50 Senate Republicans in blocking comprehensive legislation to ensure equal access to the ballot box for all Americans.
As we continue fighting against anti-voter efforts across the country, President Joe Biden must reaffirm his commitment to use all of the tools of the presidency to protect voting rights.
Here in Nevada, encouraging policy change has strengthened the freedom to vote by expanding voting by mail. But in many other states, extremist lawmakers and dark money groups have been hard at work using partisan gerrymandering to draw congressional districts that deny people fair representation, and planning to attempt future election sabotage.
Last year alone, 19 states passed 34 anti-voter laws creating new barriers to access the ballot box, especially for people of color and young voters. This year, extremist state lawmakers are moving at an even faster pace to restrict the freedom to vote, introducing more than 250 bills in 27 states attacking voting rights.
In 2020, despite an ongoing pandemic, an unprecedented number of Americans turned out to the polls to vote for new leadership. With the 2022 midterm elections approaching, millions of these voters are demanding swift action to mitigate the new challenges they will face to access the ballot box that will make it significantly harder for them to vote, and even block them entirely.
Our leaders must do right by those who elected them into power by protecting our freedom to vote. Unfortunately, 52 senators have already betrayed their voters by failing to do so. We now need Biden to rise to the occasion and do everything he can to unilaterally safeguard voting rights and help ensure free and fair elections in 2022 and beyond.
The Biden administration has already taken some actions, including directing the Department of Justice to vigorously enforce existing voting rights laws, issuing the Promoting Access to Voting executive order, and declaring his support for changing the Senate rules to pass the Freedom to Vote: John Lewis Act.
Following the administration’s global Summit for Democracy this year, voters need the White House to uphold commitments made to strengthen democracy at home, as well as investigate further actions that will protect our freedom to vote, prevent election sabotage, limit the influence of dark money, restore trust in government, and fight corruption so billionaires can’t buy elections.
Our state and its leaders should continue to champion the right to vote, but it doesn’t guarantee similar protections or election standards for fellow Americans in battleground states who continue to face partisan attempts to silence their voices.
Nevadans and all Americans need a healthy democracy, because we deserve a say in the decisions that affect us and progress on issues like a warming climate, gun violence prevention, and a comprehensive response to COVID-19 and future pandemics. Biden must step up to correct the course of our democracy.
Elias Hakim is the campaign associate with the Declaration for American Democracy, a coalition of labor, racial justice, faith, women’s rights, environmental and good government advocacy groups.