The Progressive

NewsWire

A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact:

Anushka Sarkar, press@standupamerica.com

Senate Must Heed Biden's Call to Reform the Filibuster to Protect Voting Rights

WASHINGTON

Sean Eldridge, President & Founder of Stand Up America, issued the following statement after President Biden endorsed making an exception to the Senate filibuster to pass critical voting rights legislation:

"After months of pressure from activists around the country, including hundreds of thousands of Stand Up America members, President Biden has finally endorsed reforming the filibuster to protect our freedom to vote. "The Senate should heed President Biden's call and act immediately in the new year to reform the filibuster and pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act before it's too late.
"The House has acted, the President has weighed in, and now the Senate must act. Every senator should have to go on the record and decide whether to stand with the Jim Crow filibuster or our freedom to vote."
Stand Up America members from across the country have been urging President Biden to weigh in for months and help end the filibuster to protect our freedom to vote. Stand Up America's community of two million progressives has:
  • Delivered more than 400,000 petition signatures from every state in the country to the White House calling on President Biden to demand the Senate end the filibuster to pass crucial voting rights legislation;
  • Made more than 90,000 calls to members of Congress urging lawmakers to reform the outdated filibuster rule and protect the freedom to vote;
  • Sent nearly 100,000 emails to members of Congress;
  • Submitted nearly 20,000 letters to editors at newspapers across the country; and
  • Sent more than 3.3 million peer-to-peer texts to educate voters in key states about the importance of passing federal voting rights legislation.
In October, Stand Up America's Founder & President, Sean Eldridge, and Executive Director, Christina Harvey, were arrested in two different actions in front of the White House calling on President Biden to demand the Senate reform the filibuster to pass voting rights legislation.

Stand Up America is a progressive advocacy organization with over two million community members across the country. Focused on grassroots advocacy to strengthen our democracy and oppose Trump's corrupt agenda, Stand Up America has driven over 600,000 phone calls to Congress and mobilized tens of thousands of protestors across the country.