Ask our congressional delegation to support the Voter Empowerment Act

Parallel bills are moving through the US Senate and House, S.123 – Voter Empowerment Act of 2013 and H.R. 12: Voter Empowerment Act of 2013. “To modernize voter registration, promote access to voting for individuals with disabilities, protect the ability of individuals to exercise the right to vote in elections for Federal office, and for other purposes.”

H.R. 12 is endorsed by many organizations, including the National Education Association, the NAACP, Common Cause, Rock the Vote, and the League of Women Voters of the US.

S.123 has 12 co-sponsors, all of them Democrats. Our US senators are not among them. Please call Senators Murray and Cantwell and ask them to co-sponsor the bill.

Senator Patty Murray:  (206) 553-5545 Contact Me – United States Senator Patty Murray

H.R.12 has 176 co-sponsors, all of them Democrats, including Representatives Jim McDermott, Adam Smith, Rick Larsen, and Derek Kilmer. Please phone Rep. Suzan DelBene and Denny Heck and ask them to co-sponsor it.

(People who say there is no difference between the Democrats and the Republicans are very wrong:  on this and numerous issues, the Republicans vote against proposals to help the 99%.)

Rep. Suzan DelBene

D.C. Office: phone: (202) 225-6311 fax: (202) 226-1606 hours: M-F 9-5:30pm

Bothell Office: phone: (425) 485-0085 fax: (425) 485-0083 hours: M-F 8:30am-5pm

Rep. Denny Heck

D.C. Office: phone: 202-225-9740 fax: 202-225-0129 hours: M-F 9-6:00pm EST

Pierce County Office: phone: (253) 208-6172 hours: M-F 8:30am-5:00pm PST

MoveOn sent out an email this morning asking readers to start a petition in support of a different bill, the Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2014, that would help restore some of the voting protections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 — protections that were overturned by Supreme Court last year.

Late last week, Representatives Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and John Conyers (D-MI) and Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced new legislation—the Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2014—that would strengthen the Voting Rights Act. This bill isn’t perfect but is the best vehicle we have for restoring the rights struck down by the Supreme Court last year. (source)Improving and passing this bill won’t be easy. Already, critics on the right are gearing up to try to kill it, and Speaker John Boehner has yet to commit to bringing it up for a vote.2 Despite the fact that the bill is bipartisan, it’s not guaranteed to pass.

MoveOn members in hundreds of districts across the country have started petitions calling on their members of Congress to cosponsor this important bill. But nobody has started a petition, yet, calling on your representative, Adam Smith, to add his name.

Start a petition to Rep. Adam Smith asking him to cosponsor the Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2014

If you start a petition, other MoveOn members in your district will help you get it going, and we’ll provide you with extra support. But first someone needs to take the lead by starting this petition.

Given Republican control of the House, these efforts may be symbolic at best.