Hearing witness U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA): “We are in a 911 emergency for our democracy … we must pass federal voting rights legislation—no matter what.”
Washington, DC — Today, the U.S. Senate Rules committee held a field hearing in Georgia on “Protecting the Freedom to Vote.” Georgia is one of 14 states to enact laws this year that will make it harder for Americans to vote, with the burden disproportionately impacting Black and brown voters. As Rules Committee Chair Senator Klobuchar told the New York Times in regards to Republican states’ voter suppression: “this is a concerted effort against our democracy.”
U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) spoke as a witness at today’s hearing and in his prepared testimony stated:
“We are in a 911 emergency for our democracy. We are witnessing a shameless, unabashed assault on people’s voting rights. And in the face of all that we’re seeing in Georgia, and across the country, we must pass federal voting rights legislation—no matter what.”
The following is a statement from Eli Zupnick, spokesperson for Fix Our Senate:
“Today’s hearing, in one of the states with Republican officials trying to suppress the vote and subvert our democracy, was a powerful reminder of what’s at stake in this fight.
As Senator Warnock noted, ‘we are in a 911 emergency for our democracy.’ The only appropriate response is to pass strong federal voting rights legislation by eliminating the filibuster as a weapon Sen. Mitch McConnell and Republicans can rely on to keep our democracy rigged.
A majority of the Senate is on the record supporting strong voting rights legislation. Even the most vocal defenders of the filibuster have indicated that they see it being abused and are open to reform.
Our democracy depends on Senate action and Democrats ensuring that the filibuster cannot stand in the way of the emergency we face.”