Stacey Abrams, Michelle Obama Collaborating on Voting Rights Push

By Mychael Schnell, The Hill

05 August 21

tacey Abrams and Michelle Obama are coming together in a renewed push for federal voting rights legislation.

The former Democratic gubernatorial candidate in Georgia and the former first lady released a video Thursday calling on the public to help “protect our freedom to vote,” as a number of Republican-dominated states continue to pass elections bills that some say will hamper voters’ access to the polls.

According to the Brennan Center for Justice, at least 18 states have enacted 30 laws that restrict access to vote.

Obama, in the video, said “dangerous legislation” is being considered throughout the country that would limit voting rights.

Abrams contended that many of the proposals would “disproportionately impact Black, brown, young and working-class voters and voters with disabilities.”

The Democratic duo said the fight for voting rights legislation “isn’t about who’s president or who’s in Congress,” but “about our families, our neighborhoods, our schools and our communities.”

The public service announcement was put together by When We All Vote, Obama’s organization to help educate and assemble voters of color and young people, and Fair Fight Action, Abrams’s group dedicated to voting rights.

They called on the public to contact their members of Congress and urge them to “protect and strengthen our access to the ballot.” They also suggested people should check their voter registration statuses and ensure that all community members are registered.

“We're working to change the future of this nation. It's not going to be easy, but nothing this important ever is,” Obama said in the video.

“We need you. Are you in?” the two asked at the conclusion of the video.

The House in March passed the For the People Act, a voting rights bill championed by Democrats, but the legislation was ultimately blocked by Senate Republicans in a party-line vote.

Democrats have struggled with enacting elections reform because of opposition from Republicans.

The issue, however, gained renewed attention in June when a group of Texas state House Democrats fled to Washington, D.C., in an effort to stop the passage of a sweeping elections bill in the state.

The lawmakers have been in D.C. since, where they will likely remain until the Texas special session ends.

The group met with Abrams, former President Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week.