Each week the AIT community receives #TakeActionTuesday with tips for creating impactful change in their community and beyond. From new online tools, to pending policy updates, subscribe today to make sure you don’t miss these action-oriented recommendations.
This week marks the 55th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), which enforced the rights enshrined in the 15th Amendment. The VRA was designed to eliminate discriminatory voting practices, outlawing literacy test and other measures used disenfranchise minorities. Voting rights advocates often call it one of the most successful pieces of civil rights legislation passed by the federal government.
This week also marks 7 years since the Supreme Court dismantled key enforcement provisions of the VRA. In the years since that ruling lawmakers in 25 states have introduced hundreds of measures that make it harder to vote. Measures like, new voter ID requirements, closing polling places, cutting early voting and purging voter rolls, all of which have disproportionately impacted communities of color.
This Take Action Tuesday we encourage you to advocate for the expansion of access to the ballot box.
- Join Us. This week we’re hosting a free virtual event 19th Amendment: Past, Present, Future on Thursday, Aug 6 at 7pm EST. The event will celebrate the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. Our discussion will center on women’s rights and discuss the current state of voting rights in America. Our speakers include House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, Former Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, US Olympian, Abby Wambach and Activist, Brittany Packnett Cunningham.
- Engage Your Representatives. Contact your members of Congress to discuss your views on the Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2019. In December the House of Representatives passed voting rights legislation that has not been taken up by the Senate. The bill would create new ways of measuring if states require oversight for violation of minority voting rights.
- Get Registered. Make sure you register to vote and register others in your community. You can use AIT’s Voter Registration Portal to make sure you’re ready for November.
How are you helping expand access to the ballot box? Let us know at info@aitogether.org.
