Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Jack Reed today called on Congress to focus squarely on protecting voting rights and the integrity of the electoral process.
Reed stated:
“The right to vote is sacred, but, in the wake of the 2020 election, some states and localities are jeopardizing our free and fair elections to the point they threaten our very democracy. I am a cosponsor of both the Freedom to Vote Act and the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, critical voting rights bills that are needed to protect our elections and our democracy. The blockade against these bills has to end, and that’s why I agree with Senator Warnock that the Senate cannot adjourn until we address this existential crisis through every constitutional method available. The Senate has to start working like the Senate again so we have real debate, focused amendments, and final passage on crucial matters like this. Passage cannot wait—every day we march to the 2022 election without passing these bills, we are missing key deadlines for redistricting, voter registration, and campaign finance. If the Senate is denied a vote now, the damage to our democracy cannot be undone before Election Day of 2022.
“Partisan attempts to restrict voting access are an affront to democracy itself. Congress must do its job and debate this issue and then vote. Failure by the Senate to allow votes on voting rights could spark a constitutional crisis. Every Senator says they believe in protecting Americans’ right to vote in free and fair elections. Now the question becomes: who is willing to actually vote that way? My answer is: I am.”