Submit a National John Lewis Advancement Action Day Letter to the Editor

Today, voting rights are under attack by state legislators across the country who have introduced and passed laws to make it harder for people to vote. On May 8, people across the nation will hold events in their communities to remember Congressman John Lewis' legacy and fight for the voting rights of Black voters and other voters of color and call on their members of Congress to pass the For the Peeople Act, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, and D.C. statehood without letting the filibuster get in the way.

One of the ways to get your elected officials' attention and tell more people about May 8th is to submit a Letter to the Editor to your local newspapers. Choose an example letter to the editor to submit or write your own! 

Learn more about the events happening nationwide on May 8th at www.johnlewisdayofaction.org.

Below are four example letters to the editor (LTE) on the For the People Act, DC statehood, and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. Pick one to submit, or write your own!

WRITING TIPS

• Keep it short! A letter should be 150-200 words.
• Focus on one idea. If you have more to say, you can write more letters!
• Be personal. Connecting to your family or individual history will make your letter powerful and memorable.
• Ask your reader for action. Is your letter asking for a politician to take a step, a newspaper to take a stance, or a neighbor to take to the streets? Maybe it's all three!

Additional information and talking points about the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act Day of Action can be found here.

For the People Act (S.1) General LTE

The American people have found themselves in a precarious position—Democrats, who have won a trifecta, seem powerless to enact much of their agenda. We ended up in this situation because our democracy was designed to give a tremendous power to a small minority, and Republicans have spent decades exploiting that power to entrench their rule over the majority. Voter suppression. Gerrymandering. Buying elections. Even now, following historic voter turnout by Black and brown voters in states like Georgia, Texas, and Arizona, Republican-led legislatures are working to add additional barriers to accessing the ballot box. 

That’s why our first priority should be fixing our democracy and ensuring that structural reform rebalances power for the people—before it's too late. We need Congress to pass H.R. 1, the For The People Act, to get money out of politics, expand voting rights, combat corruption, secure our elections and much more. These reforms to our democracy are pivotal to preventing future tyrants.The Democratic House passed H.R.1 last year, with every Democrat voting yes. It’s time for them to do the same and for the new Democratic majority in the Senate to do the same. 

Americans took the first step to heal our democracy by overwhelmingly voting Trump out of office. Join us on May 8th for the John Lewis Voting Rights Day of Action to demand Congress do its part to fix our badly broken democracy and pass H.R. 1, the For the People Act. 

John Lewis Voting Rights Act (HR 4) General LTE

Over the past two years alone, we’ve seen politicians at every level of government work tirelessly to suppress the vote in communities of color. Our democracy is currently rigged towards the white and wealthy, and those whose power is threatened by the existence of a multiracial, representative democracy rely on voter suppression, partisan gerrymandering, corrupt money in politics, and other mechanisms to oppress Black people and people of color to maintain their hold on power.

It is clear the reasoning behind these attacks: those who support them believe if you won’t vote for them, you shouldn’t vote at all. But that’s not what John Lewis fought for and that’s not what he believed. Congressman Lewis shed his blood and dedicated his life to ensuring that all Americans, especially voters of color, were able to participate in American’s electoral process. 

On May 8th, we’ll gather across the country to ignite massive public support for critical reforms to our democracy.Reforms that will ease access to the ballot, end the era of corruption and big money in our politics, and ensure that the majority will finally rule. Together, we will demand Congress pass H.R. 4, The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, to honor his legacy and restore the teeth of the Voting Rights Act. This bill would re-establish the preclearance requirements that were thrown out by the Supreme Court, among other voter protections. 

DC Statehood (S. 1) LTE

On January 6, at the direction of Donald Trump, right-wing extremists attacked the Capitol and turned the District of Columbia into a war zone. The nation watched as the city was near powerless to defend itself because it lacked the authorities and powers of a state. The issue of statehood for D.C. is about more than safety and security—it’s about the promise of our democracy. It is also about racial justice. The population of the District is majority Black and people of color. Their ongoing disenfranchisement stems from our nation’s shameful history of denying Black and brown people political power. If D.C. is granted statehood, it would be the only state with a plurality of Black residents. In addition, two new Senators would work to rebalance the Senate from entrenched minority control—another vestige of white supremacy in our government. 

In 2019, for the first time ever, House Democrats passed H.R. 51, the DC statehood bill, a first in our nation’s history. In this new Congress, Democrats have the opportunity to continue this work and pass it in both chambers of Congress. After four grueling years of Donald Trump and Republican rule, American votes soundly elected Democrats and Joe Biden. Democrats won their trifecta due in part to the historic turnout by Black and brown voters. After campaigning on a promise to Build Back Better, Democrats now have an obligation to deliver. The first step in rebuilding our country and healing our broken democracy should be correcting the racist ills that made Trump possible and deny a large number of residents representation in Congress. They should start by granting D.C. statehood. 

Filibuster General LTE

In his first few months as Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell has given us a preview of how Republicans will behave for the next four years. They will use every tool at their disposal, like the filibuster, to cling to power and stop progress. They used it to block civil rights legislation in the 60s. They used it to block background checks for gun sales in 2013. And they’ll use it to block EVERYTHING Democrats want to do in 2021.

Republicans have changed the rules to entrench their power and we need to fight fire with fire. The only reason Mitch McConnell hasn’t already gotten rid of the filibuster is because he hasn’t needed to. He has changed the rules in order to pack federal courts with judges who will overturn Roe V. Wade, declare the ACA unconstitutional, and go after our civil rights, at a minimum.

Democrats won the majority, and they should act like it. They promised Americans bold relief and they shouldn’t let Republicans use procedural hurdles like the filibuster to block their agenda. The best chance of keeping Republicans from permanently controlling the levers of power is by passing big, bold democracy reforms -- and the only way we do that is by eliminating the filibuster. Mitch McConnell is too eager to use it.