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The post MoveOn Launches Campaign to Protect and Expand Voting Rights; Campaign Kicks Off With More Than 4,000 Visits to Congressional Offices Today appeared first on MoveOn: People-Powered Progress.

All around the country, voting rights are under attack—but MoveOn members are fighting back with the Defend the Vote campaign.

Last year, the Supreme Court gutted the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965. Since then, Tea Party governors and Republican legislators across the country have raced to implement new voter suppression laws, like limiting poll hours and shortening voter registration periods. But last month, a new bipartisan bill—the Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2014—was introduced in the House of Representatives to strengthen the Voting Rights Act. This bill is the best vehicle we have for restoring the rights struck down by the Supreme Court last year.

That’s why MoveOn members across the country have been campaigning to get their representatives to cosponsor and strengthen the bill. And we’re winning! Since we launched the Defend the Vote campaign in nearly 400 districts across the country, fourteen more members of Congress have signed on to co-sponsor the Voting Rights Amendment Act. MoveOn members Charles Shelby, Lilly Spitz, Aaron Mitchell, John Darcy, Catherine Launay, Grace Balch, Freemont Gilbert, Jack Young, Lee Witter, Christopher Beall, and Kimyotta Hankins all started MoveOn Petitions to their members of Congress Rep. Mike Quigley (IL-5), Rep. Doris Matsui (CA-6), Rep. David Scott (GA-13), Rep. Steven Horsford (NV-4), Rep. Janice Schakowsky (IL-9), Rep. Scott Peters (CA-52), Rep. Fred Upton (MI-6),Rep. Dave Reichert (WA-8), Rep. Bill Pascrell (NJ-9), and Rep. Frank LoBiondo (NJ-2) who have now signed on to co-sponsor this important bill.

The post VICTORY: Defend the Vote Campaign Secures Support for Voting Rights Amendment Act appeared first on MoveOn: People-Powered Progress.

S. 1975, a new election modernization bill in Massachusetts, would allow early voting, online voter registration, and preregistration, as well as other updates to make voting more fair. These reforms are vital for making elections accessible to as many Bay Staters as possible. That’s why Sara Brady of the organization MassVOTE started several MoveOn Petitions to the legislature, encouraging them to pass the bill. Thousands of MoveOn members signed the petitions—and on the day of the vote, members also generated a ton of phone calls to their senators, asking them each to support the bill. On Thursday, the bill passed the Massachusetts Senate with a vote of 37-1.

This bill is only the beginning. Last year, the Supreme Court gutted the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965. Since then, Republicans across the country have raced to implement new restrictive laws that would do exactly what the Voting Rights Act was meant to protect against. But MoveOn members are fighting back on the national, state, and local level.

The post VICTORY: Voting Rights in Massachusetts appeared first on MoveOn: People-Powered Progress.