Source: United States Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore)
September 30, 2021
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today introduced a resolution with Congressman Marc Veasey, D-Texas, to designate September as “National Voting Rights Month.” The resolution will encourage voter registration in the month of September, and push Congress to restore the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to preserve the right to vote amid Republican-led voter suppression attempts.
“There is no right more essential to the functioning of our democratic nation than the right to vote,” Wyden said. “However, that fundamental right is under assault in statehouses across the country, by partisan forces seeking to disenfranchise voters – especially Black, Hispanic and people of color – rather than win them over. I’m proud to continue my partnership with Congressman Veasey to mark how voting rights are critical to the health of our democracy.”
“At this moment in history, states like my home state of Texas are ground zero in the fight for the fundamental right to vote,” said Congressman Marc Veasey (TX-33). “We need to do everything to safeguard access to the ballot box and the future of our democracy. That is why I am proud to once again partner with Senator Wyden to designate this month as National Voting Rights Month to bring awareness to how important preserving voting rights are.”
This resolution has been endorsed by a number of voting rights and civil rights organizations, including the Sentencing Project and Voter Protection Corps.
In the Senate, Wyden was joined by U.S. Sens. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Bob Menendez, D-N.J., Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., Jack Reed, D-R.I., Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Ben Cardin, D-Md., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Cory Booker, D-N.J., Tina Smith, D-Minn., Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Angus King, I-Maine, Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Michael Bennet, D-Colo., Mark Warner, D-Va., Tom Carper, D-Del., Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.
A copy of the resolution can be found here.