There are plenty of things to detest about Republicans' shameless attempt to suppress the vote in Georgia: S.B. 202. But here's one thing in particular that gets my blood boiling:
On primary day last year in Atlanta, it was 86 degrees outside. The heat made it feel like 99. Some voters waited hours in line at the polls.
Now, under S.B. 202, it's illegal to hand voters a bottle of water while they wait in line.
That's just the surface. Fewer ballot drop boxes. New ID requirements. The list goes on -- and it's just one of the over 360 voter suppression bills overwhelmingly proposed by Republicans across the nation this year.
I'm a Georgian, the mayor of Atlanta, and the DNC's vice chair for civic engagement and voter protection: Believe me when I say you are our best hope for stopping the GOP's ruthless attacks on the right to vote -- attacks purposefully designed to keep Black voters and voters of color from making their voices heard.
With your help, we're maintaining robust voter protection programs in key states, mobilizing organizers and volunteers against these bills, and taking these fights to court when all else fails.
But that work takes enormous resources -- the DNC spent $30 million on litigation last year alone! So I mean it when I say that we cannot meet this moment with the strength it requires without you. That's why I'm asking:
Can you chip in $7, or even a few dollars, to the DNC before their deadline Friday? Even though we're far from Election Day, what we raise right now will have enormous consequences on our efforts to protect the right to vote and elect Democrats up and down the ballot.
Keisha
Keisha Lance Bottoms
Mayor, City of Atlanta
DNC Vice Chair, Civic Engagement and Voter Protection
P.S. The passage of this shameless bill in Georgia hits home -- but it's just one of the over 360 voter suppression bills overwhelmingly proposed by Republicans this year. And each is proof that we need to keep organizing, messaging, and litigating year-round. We cannot fight back and elect Democrats in all 50 states and territories without you: Please, pitch in $7 to the DNC before Friday's critical deadline.
