In reaction to the Senate's failure to pass the the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act, Abby Maxman, President and CEO of Oxfam America said:
Republicans, aided by Democratic Senators Manchin and Sinema, succeeded in blocking much needed reforms to protect our democracy, but we will not give up in our collective fight to protect our freedom to vote.
The right to vote is a cornerstone of American democracy—the right that allows each of us to participate in the policy making over the decisions that affect our lives. Republicans are working to relentlessly and systematically to strip away a right that has been at the heart of the struggle for justice in our country since its founding.
President Biden committed to protect our country from attacks on our fundamental rights, to secure it from authoritarianism, and to bring us together around the common-sense ideal that everyone --Black, Indigenous, Brown, or white-- should be able to vote freely and fairly. But today, the right to vote is under more severe threat in states and communities across this country than it was when President Biden took office. Republicans in state-legislatures and in Congress, aided by a few Democrats in the Senate, are working to undermine our democracy and freedom to vote, rather than protect it.
In the face of this reality, we must continue organizing at every level to protect and expand voting rights and defeat attacks that restrict our access to the ballot box. We must ensure every person in Black, brown and poor communities specifically targeted by these Republican-led state level anti-voter laws knows their rights, and we must marshal the tools and resources to ensure they can cast their ballot. And we must hold accountable our leaders in Washington who have the power to protect our freedom to vote, but are refusing to use it. We demand that the Biden Administration - and every member of Congress who cloaks themselves in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King - takes responsibility for their own role in delivering voting rights for all.
The flaws and fissures in our political system are clearly exposed and are at a point of extreme fracture right now. In a truly unprecedented and consequential moment in our country’s history, we as citizens, have a responsibility to live up to our ideals. We must be actively involved in preserving the very foundation and pillars of our democracy.
Join us to mobilize Americans to raise their voices in the 2022 elections and vote to push back on the restrictions that Republicans in states and localities are placing on voting in many places around the country. Fair representation and equal access to voting is under attack in America and our collective future depends on what we choose to do today.