Target: Merrick Garland, U.S. Attorney General
Goal: Encourage efforts to safeguard voting rights of all communities.
As the country celebrated its Independence Day, an increasing number of states marched towards laws that would restrict and suppress one of the most fundamental American rights: the right to have one’s voice heard at the ballot box. Such dictates that would seriously curb access to voting, particularly amongst minority populations, have already been enacted in at least 14 states. Meanwhile, other regions are running so-called audits (based almost entirely on conspiracy theories and disinformation) that still call into question the results of the last election. Despite the troubling resurgence of attempted voter suppression and despite continued calls for action (calls echoed in this ForceChange petition and this petition), Congress has remained largely at a stalemate. The Department of Justice (DOJ), however, has heeded these pleas for reform and stepped up its enforcement of voting rights protections.
Citing the uptick in voter suppression legislation and the recent hits taken to the Voting Rights Act, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced a reinvestment and recommitment to equal and fair voting. For one, he will more than double the staff on-hand in the department’s civil rights division tasked with ensuring voter protections. More crucial still, the department will take a long and hard legal look at the flurry of hastily passed measures aimed at everything from obliterating mail-in voting to curbing drop-off ballot sites in heavily minority areas to forcing voters to endure abnormally long waits and intimidating “poll watchers.” In addition, more comprehensive guidance will be given in dealing with election audits and issues brought about by upcoming redistricting. And in perhaps the most important development, individuals who willfully spread false information in an attempt to suppress any voter will face strong criminal charges.
These actions are a needed step in holding those people who would destroy this building block of democracy accountable. Sign the petition below to support this vital effort at increasing, not decreasing voter access.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Attorney General Garland,
The right to vote has endured such a long, complicated, and fraught history in the United States. Too many politicians want to take the country back to a time when this cornerstone of democracy was seen as a privilege for a select few. You announced staffing increases, new guidance, and renewed legal action against unlawful proposals and actions disenfranchising and suppressing voters. In affirming that you would “meet the challenges of the time,” you were correct that a central mission of the DOJ since its inception has been the protection of all voters.
Once again, the justice system must prevail where the politicians fail. Thank you for standing up for the most basic right and liberty of all Americans.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Element5 Digital
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