rich 1.0 Action Network https://actionnetwork.org <link href='https://actionnetwork.org/css/style-embed-v3.css' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' /><script src='https://actionnetwork.org/widgets/v6/letter/fix-the-senate-end-the-filibuster?format=js&source=widget'></script><div id='can-letter-area-fix-the-senate-end-the-filibuster' style='width: 100%'><!-- this div is the target for our HTML insertion --></div> Advocates for Youth https://actionnetwork.org/groups/advocates-for-youth https://can2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/share_options/facebook_images/000/340/025/original/update_our_hiv_policies!_(6).png For too long, American democracy has been broken. It's too hard to vote and even if we do, the U.S. Senate has an undemocratic requirement that 60% of Senators are needed to do anything (yes, this is the "filibuster" you've heard so much about). It's time to fix our democracy once and for all. Now is a critical moment in that fight. Pressure is building on the Senate to finally change their old rules and end the filibuster so legislation can pass with a simple majority (you know, like every other democracy in the world). Once they do that, they can finally pass the most transformative democracy reform bills in a generation! The Freedom To Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act will make it easier to vote, bring down the barriers erected to silence Black, Indigenous, young and new Americans, and give all of us - no matter our color, zip code or income - an equal say in our democracy. Ending the filibuster and passing these bills will help us realize the promise of our democracy: where every voice is equal and our elected leaders deliver what our families need from creating quality jobs, to ensuring we can care for our families, to protecting our air and water. Use this form to send a letter to your Senator today! Tell them to end the undemocratic filibuster so we can save our democracy! The movement to end the filibuster and pass voting rights laws is a national effort taking place in January and February of 2022. It is supported by thousands of progressive, civil rights, and reproductive justice organizations. More information is below for those who are interested. The Filibuster Problem: The filibuster is a U.S. Senate rule (that does not exist in any other democratic nation by the way) requiring 60% of Senators to support something before it can become law. That's right, we elect people to office with just a simple majority, and states can pass voter restrictions, abortion bans, anti-trans bills, and any other policy with just a simple majority. But the U.S. Senate requires 60% support. Using the filibuster to block legislation used to be rare, but it was most prominently employed in the 1920s and 1960s to block civil rights and voting rights for Black Americans. Today, it is regularly used to block any piece of legislation, from immigration reform and combatting climate change, to campaign finance reform and LGBTQ equality. Solution: End the filibuster and go back to only requiring 51 votes to pass legislation. Contrary to popular belief, this is how the Senate was originally intended to work - that's right, the filibuster is NOT in the constitution or any of our founding documents. It was invented to give more power to small southern states that enslaved people. Ending the filibuster is a racial justice issue. Ending the filibuster will also allow the Senate to move forward with other popular pieces of legislation that extremists are blocking, including LGBTQ equality, immigration reform, and so much more. The Filibuster and Voting Rights is a Reproductive Justice Issue If voting restrictions are so intense that young people, families, people of color, low income folks and new citizens cannot vote, then their voices are silenced and the issues they care about will never be dealt with. Equitable access to the vote means better representation of our communities and responsiveness to our basic needs like comprehensive healthcare, including contraception, maternal care, abortion care, gender-affirming care, and comprehensive sex education. Equitable access to the ballot box allows us to focus on justice and liberation, which increases bodily autonomy and integrity for many marginalized communities especially Black and Brown people, young people, and queer, transgender, and nonbinary people. The filibuster is stopping the Freedom to Vote Act and John Lewis Voting Rights Act from becoming law. In other words, the filibuster is contributing to voter suppression, and voting is the powerful weapon communities across this country have when it comes to protecting rights to control our bodies. Barriers to restrict voting access are systematically used to target the same people who would be most affected by anti-abortion laws and attacks on LGBTQ rights and reproductive health care — Black and Brown communities, immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, people with low incomes, people with disabilities, and young people.   Together, these bills are the most transformational reforms to our voting laws since the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Senate MUST pass these bills in order to save and restore democracy in the United States of America. https://actionnetwork.org/letters/fix-the-senate-end-the-filibuster