LWVUS President Dr. Deborah Turner Remarks at 'No More Excuses: Voting Rights Now!' Rally

WASHINGTON – Today, LWVUS board president, Dr. Deborah Ann Turner, delivered the following remarks at the White House, demanding the Biden administration take swift action to ensure passage of voting rights legislation. The League of Women Voters and People For the American Way led the rally and protest with partner organizations. More than 200 activists and volunteers showed up and made their voices heard at the protest billed, ‘No More Excuses: Voting Rights Now!’

Just over 100 years ago, brave women stood on this very spot with much the same message that we deliver today. Those suffragists were calling on the President to expand voting rights for women. Today, we gather in front of the White House to continue their fight for full and equal voting rights.

Right now, we are faced with an assault on our democracy that threatens the voting freedoms of millions of Americans — particularly voters of color, women voters, disabled voters, and young voters. Our President has given us his word that he will be a champion for voting rights. But we have yet to see him put those words into action.

We have yet to see him use the full power of the executive branch to advance the For the People Act. We have yet to see him bring lawmakers together on voting rights the same way he did on infrastructure.

Our freedom to vote is the cornerstone of American democracy. Now is the time to ensure national standards that will protect and expand our access to the ballot. The Voting Rights Act has always received bipartisan support. And that’s because the right to vote is not a partisan issue, it is the foundation of our democracy.

Now is not the time to sit back and hope our Congress does the right thing. President Biden must use the full power of his office. He must compel Congress to pass voting rights legislation and ensure the freedom to vote for all Americans.
Attacks on our freedom to vote are meant to drown out the voices of those least represented in our democracy. When one person is disenfranchised, our entire democracy is weakened.

And speaking of those least represented, our call for democracy reform must include statehood for the District of Columbia. Residents of our nation’s capital have been subject to taxation without representation for our country’s entire existence. This is shameful. We cannot call ourselves a great democracy until ALL our people have full and equal representation in our government. The President must not leave the people of DC behind.

It is time that the White House truly show us that voting rights is a priority. This is about the soul of our nation. Mr. President, we the people will not accept words alone. We demand voting rights NOW!

Thank you.

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CONTACT: Sarah Courtney | 202-263-1332 | [email protected]