Today, a coalition of civil rights organizations sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Schumer regarding conversations and proposed reforms to the Electoral Count Act. Electoral Count Act and reforms are insufficient to address racial discrimination in voting and stronger federal voting rights protections are needed. Efforts to restrict access to voting and the urgent threats to our democracy are rooted in racism. As the letter states, a legislative solution that addresses racial discrimination in voting and strengthens voter protections is urgently needed. Any revised legislation also includes components of the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act that are necessary to address the problems faced by eligible voters in their attempts to cast votes and have those votes counted. Additionally, the letter urges Senators to continue the conversation about the imperative to no longer allow an arcane rule with a racist history to block urgently needed protections for the freedom to vote.
Read the full letter here.
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Founded in 1940, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is the nation’s first civil and human rights law organization. LDF has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957—although LDF was originally founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights. LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute is a multi-disciplinary and collaborative hub within LDF that launches targeted campaigns and undertakes innovative research to shape the civil rights narrative. In media attributions, please refer to us as the NAACP Legal Defense Fund or LDF. Follow LDF on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
