Durbin Calls on Senate Colleagues to Support Voting Rights Legislation

WASHINGTON – In the wake of the first anniversary of the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today called on his colleagues to support important voting rights legislation that will come before the Senate next week.  In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin also discussed the continued threat to our democracy posed by Donald Trump’s “Big Lie.”  

“Congress and our nation marked the first anniversary of one of the darkest days in American history yesterday, the January 6 insurrection, the day American democracy was nearly lost,” Durbin said.  “Since January 6, we’ve seen a torrent of bills introduced in Republican-controlled legislatures to restrict voting rights.  Republican lawmakers in nearly 20 states, including Georgia, Arizona, and Florida, have passed laws making it harder for millions of Americans to vote, and in some cases making it easier… for politicians to overturn election results they don’t like.”

Durbin continued, “Preventing states from denying citizens their right to vote is not constitutional overreach, it is an urgent constitutional obligation and we must honor it… If we in this Senate fail to denounce this ‘Big Lie,’ do you know what America’s future will look like?  It won’t be a government of and by the people, it will be a government ruled by political strongmen.  These new voter suppression laws are a coup in slow motion—they are a continuation of the January 6 attack on this building.”

Durbin went on to discuss the importance of passing the bipartisan John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, as well as the Freedom to Vote Act.   

“There are two commonsense [voting rights] proposals in the Senate,” Durbin said.  “The first is bipartisan—thank you, Senator Murkowski of Alaska—the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.  It would strengthen the Voting Rights Act of 1965… the second bill, the Freedom to Vote Act, would preserve the integrity of our elections by establishing minimum standards for voting access in all states, including same-day voter registration and establishing Election Day as a federal holiday.”

During his speech, Durbin argued that if Republicans continue to filibuster voting rights legislation, Senate Democrats must be prepared to support changes to the Senate rules in order to protect Americans’ right to vote. 

“The only obstacle standing in the way of stopping this voter suppression is the filibuster. But let’s be clear, there is no Senate rule more important than our constitutional right to vote,” Durbin said.  “This is not just another political debate.  The future of American democracy is at stake.”

Video of Durbin’s floor speech is available here.

Audio of Durbin’s floor speech is available here.

Footage of Durbin’s floor speech is available here for TV Stations.

In November, Durbin worked with Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Joe Manchin (D-WV) to create a bipartisan compromise on the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.  This proposal – which builds on the version introduced earlier in October – reflects months of bipartisan negotiations and seeks to garner broader support in the Senate.

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