Washington DC -- Today the Supreme Court upheld restrictive laws in Arizona that will make it harder for Black, Indigenous, and other voters of color to make their voices heard.
Clean Water Action President and CEO, Bob Wendlegass, released the following statement:
“A healthy democracy is critical to a healthy environment, and our democracy only works if every voice is heard -- and valued. The Supreme Court had the opportunity to affirm the right to vote free from discrimination, no matter your background or where you live. Instead the Court allowed Arizona legislators to erect barriers to the ballot that will silence voters, especially Black, Latino, and Indigenous voters. The Court also effectively gutted Section Two of the Voting Rights Act, making it harder to challenge discriminatory obstacles to voting in the future.
Today’s decision makes passing legislation to strengthen our democracy and buttress the freedom vote even more important. We renew our call for the Senate to pass the For the People Act as soon as possible. If anti-democratic Senators attempt to filibuster this transformational bill again, the Senate must eliminate the filibuster. We also encourage Congress to quickly pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. We must stop these attacks on our democracy.”
###
Since the organization’s founding during the campaign to pass the landmark Clean Water Act in 1972, Clean Water Action has worked to win strong health and environmental protections by bringing issue expertise, solution-oriented thinking, and people power to the table. www.cleanwater.org