Ad invokes Martin Luther King, who in 1963 criticized the filibuster as a tool used in the Senate to block the right to vote
Biden voted 8 times in his Senate career to reform the filibuster
In a new nationwide ad campaign, End Citizens United // Let America Vote (ECU // LAV) Action Fund is urging President Biden to call on the Senate to reform the filibuster to pass the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.
The new ad invokes Martin Luther King Jr., who in 1963 pointed to the filibuster as a tool senators use to deny the rights of Americans–particularly Black and brown Americans–and silence their voices in our democracy.
The ad will run starting August 5 on broadcast and cable television, including both the Olympics and prime time, as well as on digital. This million-dollar ad buy will target audiences in DC, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
“Democrats in the Senate are united in their efforts to protect the freedom to vote for all Americans, while Republicans have made restricting voting rights one of their core principles,” said Tiffany Muller, President of End Citizens United and Let America Vote Action Fund. “The only thing preventing the Senate from passing bills to protect the right to vote is an outdated procedure in the Senate that has been used to block civil rights far too many times in our nation’s history. This moment calls for Presidential leadership, and we’re asking President Biden to fight like heck and use every tool available to him, including using his relationships in the Senate, to call for a reform to the filibuster to protect this sacred right.”
Biden has called for passage of the bills. The For the People Act has already passed the House of Representatives and Democrats are preparing to introduce the John Lewis Voting Rights Act imminently. Advocates for the legislation have been hoping Biden would take strong action to help finish the job and call on the Senate to reform the filibuster, because it has become apparent that Republicans will use the outdated Senate procedure to block any and all legislation to protect the freedom to vote. This comes as Republican-led state legislators are coordinating with dark money groups across the country to pass bills that restrict voting, especially for people of color. Since July, Democrats in the Texas legislature have left the state to deny Republicans a quorum in an effort to pass one of the worst of these bills.
The Supreme Court’s majority, which was largely appointed with extraordinary assistance from anti-voting dark money groups, in June gutted almost all of the remaining enforcement protections in the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
During his career in the Senate, Biden voted 8 times to reform the filibuster, including lowering the threshold from 67 votes to 60 votes and creating 50 vote carve outs for issues like trade and budget related legislation.
End Citizens United // Let America Vote Action Fund is leading the effort to pass the For the People Act (H.R.1/S.1), which would protect the freedom to vote for all Americans and counter the restrictive voting bills being passed in the states. It would also end dark money so billionaires can’t buy elections, stop partisan gerrymandering, and put in place ironclad ethics laws. The John Lewis Voting Rights Act would restore and strengthen the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to prevent future barriers to voting.
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