Senator Reverend Warnock took to the Senate floor, urging his colleagues to come together to protect the sacred right to vote

Senator Reverend Warnock: “I’m proud that [we were] able to come together – we decided we were not about to let this fight to protect voting rights die in this Congress. That passing voting rights is the most important thing we can do in this Congress.”

ICYMI: Senator Reverend Warnock, Colleagues Introduce New Legislation to Protect Freedom to Vote and Strengthen Democracy

From the Atlanta Journal Constitution:“There is plenty here to like on both sides of the aisle, and so we welcome our Republican counterparts in the places where they want to make suggestions — I’d like to hear them,” Senator Warnock said. “I think the American people deserve better from them than simply, ‘no.’”

***WATCH FULL VIDEO OF SENATOR WARNOCK’S FLOOR REMARKS HERE***

Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) spoke on the Senate floor, calling on every single one of his colleagues to support theFreedom to Vote Act, which will improve access to the ballot box, advance election integrity reforms & protect the nation’s democracy from emerging threats.

The Freedom to Vote Act, legislation that includes the Preventing Election Subversion Act and Voters on the Move Act, two specific provisions championed by Senator Warnock, improves access to the ballot for Georgians and for Americans, advances commonsense election integrity reforms, and protects our democracy from emerging threats. Importantly, this proposal reflects feedback from state and local election officials to ensure that the people responsible for implementing these reforms are able to do so effectively. This bill also elevates the voices of Georgia and American voters by ending partisan gerrymandering and rooting out the undue influence of special interest money in our politics.

The legislation, which was introduced Tuesday, was co-sponsored by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Angus King (I-ME), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Alex Padilla (D-CA), and Jon Tester (D-MT). Many of the co-sponsors joined Senator Warnock on the Senate floor to underscore the importance of this legislation.

Watch full video of Senator Warnock’s floor remarks HERE.

Highlights from Senator Warnock’s floor speech here:

“Our work is a testament to Democrats’ commitment to protecting access to the ballot box for every eligible voter. I think it’s important to remind us that we were blocked from debating this issue in June. It bears repeating so that the American people understand that that’s what got stopped in June – not the actual bill, but the ability to debate the bill on the Senate floor.

“But I’m proud that our group was able to come together – we decided we were not about to let this fight to protect voting rights die in this Congress. That passing voting rights is the most important thing we can do in this Congress. Because if we are going to lengthen and strengthen the cords of our democracy, that won’t just happen. We will have to work for it. We will have to fight for it. We will have to stand up for it. And that’s what we intend to do. 

“The Freedom to Vote Act will improve access to the ballot for all eligible Americans by setting national standards for absentee voting, early voting and in-person voting; it will make sure that [ballot] drop boxes are available for workers; it will enable the work that is so necessary to strengthen our democracy. This bill will end partisan gerrymandering – yet another way in which the voices of ordinary people are squeezed out of their democracy; and it will advance commonsense reforms to secure our elections.

“I say, at least give this bill a chance. Come let us reason together. Let’s talk about it. Let’s have the voting rights discussion that we didn’t have in June – it’s not too late. Let’s have the discussion the American people deserve. Let’s have an open debate and input from both sides. Here on the floor of the United States Senate. That’s why we were sent here!

“There’s a lot for my Republican friends to like in this bill—and my Democratic colleagues and I stand ready to hear what you don’t like to try and together we can try and find some common ground. 

“I know that for those that have been in this body for a while, there’s a sense in which, you know, you offer up proposals and they don’t always make it and you fight another day. When I look at what’s going on across our country, I think that if we don’t address what’s happening right now, we will have crossed a Rubicon that imperils our democracy for years to come.

“And I’m not about to sit here silently and allow that to happen. Too many people died. Too much blood was shed. Too many sacrifices made. Too much is at stake. And it’s beneath the legacy of the greatest deliberative body on the planet to refuse to even have a debate about voting rights.

“We’ve got some things done this year, but I believe if we don’t pass voting rights, history will rightly judge us harshly. The folks who sent us here are counting on us. History is waiting on us. Our children are watching us. And a great cloud of witnesses – John Lewis; a white woman named Viola Liuzzo who died fighting for voting rights; Abraham Joshua Heschel; Medgar Evers – a great cloud of witnesses urging us on to march towards the mark of the high calling. The high calling of our democratic ideals: a nation where every voice is heard and every vote counts.

Full Transcript of U.S. Senator Reverend Warnock’s floor speech below:

“M. President, I’m proud to stand on the Senate floor today with my colleagues – Sen. Klobuchar, Sen. Merkley – in support of the new Freedom to Vote Act that we just introduced, and I want to talk about why it is so important – urgent – that  Congress act right now to protect the sacred right to vote that’s under assault across our nation.

“First, I want to thank my friends who worked with me to get us to this point: Senators Klobuchar – who’s worked on this issue for so long – Sen. Merkley, also – Sen. Manchin, and Senators Schumer, Padilla, Kaine, King and Tester. 

“Our work is a testament to Democrats’ commitment to protecting access to the ballot box for every eligible voter. I think it’s important to remind us that we were blocked from debating this issue in June. It bears repeating so that the American people understand that that’s what got stopped in June – not the actual bill, but the ability to debate the bill on the Senate floor.

“But I’m proud that our group was able to come together – we decided we were not about to let this fight to protect voting rights die in this Congress. That passing voting rights is the most important thing we can do in this Congress. Because if we are going to lengthen and strengthen the cords of our democracy, that won’t just happen. We will have to work for it. We will have to fight for it. We will have to stand up for it. And that’s what we intend to do. 

“And that’s why we worked on this bill through the negotiations on the bipartisan infrastructure bill – that work is very important; I’ve often said regarding our infrastructure work that America needs a home improvement project. That that work is not only an infrastructure bill, it’s a jobs bill, desperately needed. We’ve got to build back better, create an infrastructure so that families can thrive, so that workers can be engaged in the work that grows our economy, creates more jobs. 

“But even while that work was going forward during the August recess, we were focused on writing this bill.

“The Freedom to Vote Act will improve access to the ballot for all eligible Americans by setting national standards for absentee voting, early voting and in-person voting; it will make sure that [ballot] drop boxes are available for workers; it will enable the work that is so necessary to strengthen our democracy. This bill will end partisan gerrymandering – yet another way in which the voices of ordinary people are squeezed out of their democracy; and it will advance commonsense reforms to secure our elections.

“And I’m especially proud that this bill specifically addresses the wave of voter suppression laws we’ve seen take root in my home state of Georgia and all across this country since January. 

“What kind of Congress would we be if we did not respond to all of these voter suppression bills that are mushrooming all over the country? A violent insurrection on this very Capitol driven by the Big Lie. Metastasized into a kind of voter suppression cancer all across the body politic.

“This is our moment and this is the work we must do.

“And so I’m proud that this bill includes provisions from my Preventing Election Subversion Act that will prevent what we’re seeing in places like Fulton County, Georgia right now – where partisan actors will interfere with the work of local officials, taking over the election, subverting the will of the people, even while the votes are still being cast. It will also prevent a neighbor from leveraging baseless challenges to a voter’s ability to cast their ballot and have it counted. Imagine that? And that’s one of the provisions in SB202 down in Georgia. Your neighbor can decided to challenge countless numbers of people in their right and legitimacy in casting their ballot. Tie up the whole system with these kinds of baseless accusations. How would it be possible to certify any election?

“And so simply put, the Freedom to Vote Act is all about securing our elections and making the ballot box accessible so that every eligible American can exercise that basic right – the right to vote, no matter where they live. And so as we do this work, as challenging as it is, as disappointing as it was to have our beloved colleagues on the other side of the aisle block debate, I’m not discouraged in this moment. I am encouraged by the voices and the legacy of those who committed to the idea of freedom – John Lewis was my parishioner. And although he has transitioned to eternity, his voice still echoes in the halls of this Congress.

“Every member of this chamber ought to be able to get behind voting rights. That’s the only reason we are here in the first place.

“And so I hope my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will co-sponsor and support the Freedom to Vote Act, and I look forward to talking with Democrats and Republicans about how we get this done while we continue working on economic and infrastructure packages.

“Because, M. President—we have to walk and chew gum at the same time. We have to repair our country’s infrastructure, but we also have to protect and repair the infrastructure of our democracy. It’s not either or, it’s both and. 

“We’ve always had infrastructure. We’ve always had roads and streets and ports. We’ve always had bridges. John Lewis walked across a bridge, in order to repair the infrastructure of our democracy. A bridge to the future. 

“And so, I know that some of my friends on the other side of the aisle are already saying they’re not going to support this bill.

“But in the past, I remind them, voting rights legislation has passed out of this chamber with strong bipartisan support. I hope that this day will be no different.

“I say, at least give this bill a chance. Come let us reason together. Let’s talk about it. Let’s have the voting rights discussion that we didn’t have in June – it’s not too late. Let’s have the discussion the American people deserve. Let’s have an open debate and input from both sides. Here on the floor of the United States Senate. That’s why we were sent here!

“There’s a lot for my Republican friends to like in this bill—and my Democratic colleagues and I stand ready to hear what you don’t like to try and together we can try and find some common ground. 

“So I hope my Republican friends will give this bill fair consideration, and that we can get bipartisan support to get it over the finish line.

“M. President, as I close, I want to remind all of us that the only reason we’re here in this chamber at all is because someone voted for us. Voting rights is not just some other issues alongside other issues, it gets to the heart of who we are in the first place – a democracy!

“And we will always disagree about a whole range of issues, but after politicians have argued their case about infrastructure, about taxes, about healthcare, about national security – the most powerful words ever uttered in a democracy are ‘the people have spoken.’

“And shame on us if we allow the people’s voices to be silenced in this chamber.

“Voting rights are preservative of all other rights and right now, the right to vote is under attack. Our democracy is in a 9-1-1 emergency and we must act now.

“I know that for those that have been in this body for a while, there’s a sense in which, you know, you offer up proposals and they don’t always make it and you fight another day. When I look at what’s going on across our country, I think that if we don’t address what’s happening right now, we will have crossed a Rubicon that imperils our democracy for years to come.

“And I’m not about to sit here silently and allow that to happen. Too many people died. Too much blood was shed. Too many sacrifices made. Too much is at stake. And it’s beneath the legacy of the greatest deliberative body on the planet to refuse to even have a debate about voting rights.

“And so I hope that my beloved colleagues on the other side of the aisle will come and reason together. And let’s pass this out of this chamber with strong support.

“We’ve got some things done this year, but I believe if we don’t pass voting rights, history will rightly judge us harshly. The folks who sent us here are counting on us. History is waiting on us. Our children are watching us. And a great cloud of witnesses – John Lewis; a white woman named Viola Liuzzo who died fighting for voting rights; Abraham Joshua Heschel; Medgar Evers – a great cloud of witnesses urging us on to march towards the mark of the high calling. The high calling of our democratic ideals: a nation where every voice is heard and every vote counts.

“M. President, I yield the floor.”

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