If we want the Senate to better represent us -- and actually act in the interest of the American people, not just the powerful few -- we must immediately eliminate the filibuster.

The filibuster is a practice that wasn’t routinely used until recently. As utilized, it requires 60 senators to vote to start and end debate on most bills -- so unless the majority party has secured 60 votes in favor of a bill, a minority of senators can effectively, and sometimes secretly, kill it.

In practice, this has meant that a small group of senators -- who represent a disproportionately white minority of the country’s population -- can shut down legislation on anything from voting rights and racial justice to climate change and healthcare.

The filibuster is completely undemocratic -- it’s outrageous that a bill supported by the vast majority of Americans can be blocked by a handful of self-serving politicians. It’s a parliamentary trick that’s been used repeatedly to diminish the political power of Black and Brown voters and the lawmakers who represent them.

That’s why we’re calling on the new Senate to make abolishing the filibuster a priority. This is hardly a radical idea -- the filibuster has changed many times over... major political figures from various ideological backgrounds support eliminating it... and it doesn’t appear in the Constitution, which specifically outlines instances when a supermajority vote is needed.

It’d only take a simple majority vote in the Senate to get rid of the filibuster. But unfortunately, some Democratic senators in the new Congress have hesitated to back the idea.

That’s why we must let them know that the American people are counting on them to do what’s right for our democracy. If you agree that it’s time to abolish the undemocratic filibuster, add your name today.

This petition is sponsored by: 18 Million Rising, California Clean Money Action Fund, Common Cause, Common Dreams, Daily Kos, Demand Justice, Demand Progress, Democrats.com, Fix Democracy First!, Free Speech For People, Friends of the Earth Action, Be A Hero Action Fund, Hip Hop Caucus, The Juggernaut Project, Just Democracy, The Other 98%, PeopleGreater, Progress America, Progressive Caucus Action Fund, Progressive Reform Network, Public Citizen, RootsAction.org