WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today is the 32nd annual observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, but this year’s holiday is unlike any other. The issue of voting rights has risen to the front of the national agenda, and NOW members are determined to seize this moment and deliver for democracy.
That’s why NOW has joined with more than 100 coalition partners to make MLK Day a Day of Action to end the filibuster and honor Dr. King’s enduring legacy on voting rights. We will march in the Washington, D.C. Peace Walk and Parade and our members will gather in state capitols and local communities to demand action on the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Civil Rights Advancement Act.
These measures are overdue, necessary, and essential to preserving our democracy. Urgent priorities like increasing access to early voting, prohibiting partisan gerrymandering, expanding same-day voter registration and voting by mail, and making it illegal to prevent someone from registering can’t wait a day longer—we need them now!
Only the Senate filibuster, rooted in racism, stands in the way. Dr. King was clear on the need to end the filibuster, saying “I think the tragedy is that we have a Congress with a Senate that has a minority of misguided Senators who will use the filibuster to keep the majority of people from even voting.”
Voting rights are the key to dismantling discrimination that harms women, families, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and others who are left behind, marginalized, or ignored. We honor Dr. King by continuing his fight for freedom, justice, and equality.
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The National Organization for Women (NOW) is the nation’s leading membership-based advocacy group dedicated to defending women’s rights, advancing equality and combating injustice in all aspects of social, political and economic life. Through educating, mobilizing, and convening a vast network of grassroots activists across the country, NOW advocates for national, state and local policies that promote an anti-racist and intersectional feminist agenda. Since its founding in 1966, NOW has been on the frontlines of nearly every major advancement for women’s rights and continues to champion progressive values today. More about NOW’s efforts and resources is available at NOW.org.