How We Protect the Right to Vote

I’m excited to announce that, last month, I published a comprehensive policy framework to repair and strengthen American democracy in the wake of escalating attacks on the right to vote.

I released this plan because I have long believed that voting rights are preservative of all other rights. So even as elected leaders talk about affordability, wealth inequality, billionaires getting tax cuts while everyday people can barely afford their lives, all of that brokenness reflects the brokenness of the democracy itself. We have to repair it, and we have to do so with urgency.

No more excuses. Protecting voting rights must be at the top of the agenda, and here’s what we have to do.

Investigate the Officials Who Manipulated Maps to Silence Voters’ Voices
The Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, which overturned Section 2 of the historic Voting Rights Act, has emboldened some state politicians to push through congressional maps to suppress Black and brown voters.

I recently joined a coalition of voting rights groups at the Georgia State Capitol to speak out against proposed changes to our state’s political mapsthat would shift district lines and risk diluting the voices of our diverse neighborhoods and communities.

Democrats must launch Congressional investigations into state politicians who manipulated maps to determine if these officials broke any laws in their race to gerrymander and silence Black voices.

Ban Partisan Gerrymandering
When politicians get to handpick their voters, elections become rigged from the start, and true accountability vanishes. True representation vanishes. That is why I am proud to have co-led the introduction of S. 2885, the Redistricting Reform Act, which would establish independent redistricting commissions in each state and prohibit mid-decade redistricting.

Congress must pass a ban on partisan gerrymandering nationwide to ensure fair maps for all. If any Republicans refuse, we should put them on the record and have them explain why on the floor of Congress and to the American people.

Stop Billionaires from Buying our Elections
Billionaires represent less than 0.01% of the American population yet are responsible for 19% of all money spent on federal elections. Congress must work to limit billionaires’ spending on elections and tighten restrictions on Super PACs. We need billionaires to spend less on elections and more in taxes.

Statehood for DC and Self-Determination for Territories
The 700,000 residents of D.C. live in America, are American citizens, pay federal taxes, enlist in our military, yet lack full voting representation in Congress.

As a cosponsor of S. 51, the Washington, D.C. Admission Act, I believe that Congress must admit the District of Columbia as a full state into the Union and grant D.C. residents the full Congressional representation and voice that they deserve. Congress must also expand self-determination for U.S. territories.

Guarantee the Right to Vote for All Americans
Congress must enshrine in the Constitution the affirmative right to vote for every American, including minimum standards for how our elections are conducted. After Congress puts in these safeguards, we need a Constitutional amendment to enshrine this fundamental right once and for all.

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I think a vote is a kind of prayer about the world we desire for ourselves and our children. And our prayers are stronger when we pray together.

As you may know, I am a fierce advocate for voting rights. I have co-led the introduction of legislation like S. 2523, the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would update and restore critical safeguards of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965, and S. 4484, the Right to Vote Act, which would enshrine the affirmative right to vote in federal elections. I have demanded accountability from the Trump Administration for their efforts to access sensitive voter information, including the baseless effort to seize ballots from Fulton County. I will continue to fight in the U.S. Senate to protect our elections and your right to vote.

In the meantime, I encourage you to register to vote. Checking your voter registration status, accessing voter resources, and finding information on upcoming Georgia elections ensures you have direct control over your ballot. You can also help strengthen our elections by signing up to be an official, nonpartisan poll worker.

I have always said that voting rights are preservative of all other rights. They are the context in which all other debates can take place. By protecting votingrights, Congress can empower Americans to make their voices heard and shape the future that they want for themselves and their children.

As a U.S. Senator for all Georgians, it is the honor of my life to continue to fight for you and our great state.

Keep the faith, and keep looking up.

U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock

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