Our work › Democracy & Voting Rights

Voter suppression laws are passing all over the country that disproportionally affect the elderly, the young, low-income people, and people of color. From January to April 2013 alone, 31 states introduced 82 laws that restrict the right to vote. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the heart of the Voting Rights Act. This is the result of decades of harmful messaging that tells us that structural racism no longer exists and laws protection voting rights should now, naturally, expire.

Voting rights are essential to all of us. No matter who we are, where we live, what issues we are passionate about – our ability to make positive change is proportional to our political voice. To reinvigorate our democracy and strengthen our communities’ voices in Minnesota, we must turn the table on those who want to restrict our votes and create a higher expectation of who our government should work for – US!

Minnesota’s unlikely defeat of the Voter Restriction Amendment in 2012, the first in the country, shows that there is a path to improve our ownership over this fundamental right of American citizenship. When we bring together thousands of Minnesotans from across the state, over 80 partner organizations, and choose to invest in one-to-one grassroots conversations – we win!