In his 2023 State of the Union Address, Advocates Want to Hear How President Biden Will Expand Voting Rights, Address Unfair and Inequitable Redistricting Maps
WASHINGTON – On the eve of President Biden’s 2023 State of the Union address, advocates from Ohio, Florida, and Louisiana hope Biden will announce plans to strengthen the right to vote, and the ability of Black and brown people to elect candidates of choice. The advocates released the following statement:
“People across the country are hurting and Black Americans especially want President Biden to continue investing in communities of color and implementing policies that help the average person get ahead,” said Prentiss Haney, co-director of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative. “In Ohio, where I live, all three branches of government are controlled by Republicans, making it harder for Black and brown people to vote, have their votes counted and elect candidates of choice. We need President Biden to continue fighting for communities like ours.”
“President Biden’s 2023 State of the Union comes at a time when Floridians are experiencing intense attack by a governor intent on discrediting, diminishing and denying people who look differently from him,” said Jasmine Burney-Clark, president of Equal Ground in Florida.“From his efforts to erase Black history, restrict discussions of race, to his campaign to make it harder for Floridians to vote, Florida is at ground zero when it comes to the attacks leveled against Black and brown people. It is imperative that President Biden use his authority and his platform to help not only communities in Florida, but the nation.”
“We have several major cases at the Supreme Court – including Alabama and North Carolina - that will determine Black voters’ abilities to elect candidates of choice,” said Ashley K. Shelton, president and founder of the Power Coalition in Louisiana. “We also have pending lawsuits – such as the Power Coalition’s challenge to Louisiana’s redistricting maps, which may eventually head to the Supreme Court. In this moment, advocates need to hear how the Biden administration will protect voting rights, not just for voters of today, but for future generations. Everything that we hold dear can be taken away without better protections, including laws that restrict gerrymandered and racially discriminatory legislative maps.”
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