2 August 2021
Honorable colleagues,
Thank you for your tireless service.
As state legislators, we are the day-to-day technicians in fifty unique laboratories of democracy. We do our part to make government work to the benefit of all, regardless of party. This was true during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when almost every state did its patriotic duty to provide voters relief and remove barriers to voting. This expansion of safe, secure voting led to an election with historic turnout.
The current scope of state-level attacks is unparalleled. Close to 400 anti-voter bills have been introduced in legislatures across the nation, with many signed or on the way to becoming law in Texas, Florida, Georgia, and Arizona, and others. Make no mistake: these unpatriotic attacks on our elections will undermine confidence that elections in America can possibly represent the will of a checked and balanced majority. They present a deep threat to our democracy and will lead to material harm to communities that have long been under-represented.
In a functioning democracy that fairly represents the voices of all people, elected officials should work together to expand the right to vote and protect the sanctity of elections.
We are out of options. We need your help. We are asking that Congress pass common-sense national standards to strengthen our democracy with the For the People Act while protecting against future attacks on the right to vote with an updated Voting Rights Act, fittingly named after civil rights hero John Lewis.
The world is watching. American democracy is in the balance. When future generations judge whether we rose to this pivotal moment in history, we hope you will be counted alongside us in the fight to preserve this experiment in self-governance.
Warmest wishes and heartfelt thanks,
State Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz State Representative Mindy Domb 2nd Suffolk 3rd Hampshire
State Senator Jo Comerford State Representative John Lawn Hampshire, Franklin, Worcester 10th Middlesex State Senator Cindy Creem State Representative Tram Nguyen 1st Middlesex and Norfolk 18th Essex
State Senator Adam Gomez State Representative Chynah Tyler Hampden 7th Suffolk
State Senator Becca Rausch State Representative Bud Williams Norfolk, Bristol, Middlesex 11th Hampden
State Senator Michael Barrett State Representative Ruth Balser 3rd Middlesex 12th Middlesex
State Senator Joseph Boncore State Representative Christine Barber 1st Suffolk and Middlesex 34th Middlesex
State Senator Harriette Chandler State Representative John Barrett 1st Worcester 1st Berkshire
State Senator Brendan Crighton State Representative Natalie Blais 3rd Essex 1st Franklin
State Senator John Cronin State Representative Linda Campbell Worcester and Middlesex 15th Essex
State Senator Julian Cyr State Representative Peter Capano Cape and Islands 11th Essex
State Senator Sal DiDomenico State Representative Daniel Carey Middlesex and Suffolk 2nd Hampshire
State Senator Diana DiZoglio State Representative Michelle Ciccolo 1st Essex 15th Middlesex
State Senator Jamie Eldridge State Representative Marjorie Decker Middlesex and Worcester 25th Middlesex
State Senator Paul Feeney State Representative Marcos Devers Bristol and Norfolk 16th Essex
State Senator Cindy Friedman State Representative Carol Doherty 4th Middlesex 3rd Bristol
State Senator Adam Hinds State Representative Patricia Duffy Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin, Hampden 5th Hampden
State Senator Patricia Jehlen State Representative Carolyn Dykema 2nd Middlesex 8th Middlesex
State Senator Edward Kennedy State Representative Lori Ehrlich 1st Middlesex 8th Essex
State Senator Eric Lesser State Representative Nika Elugardo 1st Hampden and Hampshire 15th Suffolk State Senator Jason Lewis State Representative Tricia Farley-Bouvier 5th Middlesex 3rd Berkshire
State Representative Brandy Fluker Oakley State Representative Dylan Fernandes 12th Suffolk Barnstable, Dukes, Nantucket
State Representative Sean Garballey State Representative Kate Lipper-Garabedian 23rd Middlesex 32nd Middlesex
State Representative Denise Garlick State Representative Jay Livingstone 13th Norfolk 8th Suffolk
State Representative Carmine Gentile State Representative Christina Minicucci 13th Middlesex 14th Essex
State Representative Carlos Gonzalez State Representative Liz Miranda 10th Hampden 5th Suffolk
State Representative Tami Gouveia State Representative Jacob Oliveira 14th Middlesex 7th Hampden
State Representative Richard Haggerty State Representative Steven Owens 30th Middlesex 29th Middlesex
State Representative James Hawkins State Representative Sarah Peake 2nd Bristol 4th Barnstable
State Representative Natalie Higgins State Representative Smitty Pignatelli 4th Worcester 4th Berkshire
State Representative Kevin Honan State Representative Maria Robinson 17th Suffolk 6th Middlesex
State Representative Vanna Howard State Representative David Rogers 17th Middlesex 24th Middlesex
State Representative Sally Kerans State Representative Jeffrey Roy 13th Essex 10th Norfolk
State Representative Kay Khan State Representative Lindsay Sabadosa 11th Middlesex 1st Hampshire
State Representative Meghan Kilcoyne State Representative Danillo Sena 12th Worcester 37th Middlesex
State Representative Jack Lewis State Representative Steven Ultrino 7th Middlesex 33rd Middlesex
State Representative David Linsky State Representative Erika Uyterhoeven 5th Middlesex 27th Middlesex
State Representative Andy Vargas 3rd Essex