Ensuring a Free, Fair, and Safe Election During the Coronavirus Pandemic
On April 1, 2021, Marcia Johnson-Blanco, co-director of the Voting Rights Project, testified before the Subcommittee on Elections of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on House Administration. The hearing, “Voting in America: Ensuring Free and Fair Access to the Ballot Box” focused on the barriers to voting that existed for the 2020 election, as well as new proposals introduced by state legislatures to restrict access to the ballot.
Johnson-Blanco began her testimony by noting the two-tiered system of voting that exists throughout the U.S. based on where people live. While some states are working to advance access to voting, others are rolling back available methods and instituting overly burdensome and unnecessary requirements. These new requirements disproportionately target voters of color and attempt to suppress their turnout.
Johnson-Blanco used data and calls into the 866-OUR-VOTE Election Protection hotline to demonstrate the difficulties voters faced across a number of areas. These included difficulties registering to vote, barriers to obtaining an absentee or mail-in ballot, and the inability to hold voter education activities. The Voting Rights Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law also brought and co-counseled in over 50 lawsuits to protect the right to vote, strike down laws and policies that imposed a burden on voting, and to expand access to the ballot box.
Johnson-Blanco advocated for passage of the For the People Act, which would protect the fundamental right to vote, modernize voter registration, provide additional voting options, eliminate many burdens in the voting process, and enfranchise millions of Americans.