A group of around 30 community members gathered at the Naperville Free Speech Pavilion yesterday for Indivisible Naperville’s Deadline For Democracy Rally.
For The People Act
The event was a part of a nationwide mobilization to urge lawmakers to pass the “For The People Act” legislation, which aims to end partisan gerrymandering and establish national guidelines that will expand voter registration.
“The For People Act will be the most, and I’ll quote, ‘significant democracy reform measure in over half a century. It is the great next civil rights bill,'” said Dianne McGuire, who co-leads Indivisible Naperville. “And comes in response to the demand for racial justice in our country.”
The For The People Act also strives to limit the purging of voter rolls and improve cybersecurity of our election systems, McGuire said.
Voting Made Easier and Harder
Seven speakers talked about the legislation yesterday including State Senator Laura Ellman, and State Representative Anne Stava-Murray.
Ellman said voter rights are under attack in some states, but in Illinois things are different.
“We have made voting easier and expanded it,” Ellman said. “For example, Election Day, November 8, 2022, it’s going to be a state holiday. Schools will be closed and they can be Election Day polling places making it easier and more accessible to vote on Election Day.”
Stava-Murray said some could argue over the last 200 years states have been putting barriers in front of ballot boxes.
“As of May 14, 2021, legislators have introduced 389 bills with restrictive provisions in 48 different states,” said Stava-Murray. “Twenty-two bills with restrictive provisions have already been enacted. In addition, at least 61 bills with restrictive provisions in 18 states are still moving through legislators.”
The Deadline For Democracy Rally ended with members of the community signing postcards to Senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin in an effort to urge both lawmakers to sign the bill.
Naperville News 17’s Christian Canizal reports.
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