Voting Rights
Take action with JCJ
End voter suppression and restore voting rights to all Americans
Join us as we mobilize Jewish communities and pro-democracy people of faith in support of voting rights.
What’s the injustice?
Too many systemic barriers stand between Americans and the ballot box.
Until almost a half century ago, people of color were subjected to rules like poll taxes and literacy tests when trying to cast their ballots. These laws existed for no other reason than to make it harder for them to vote. In 1965, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act to strengthen American democracy and deliver true voting rights to all Americans.
But while our nation has seen progress, today history is repeating itself. Legislatures across America are advancing hundreds of bills to wind back the clock on voting rights. In the courts, some are seeking to sweep away the protections enshrined in the Voting Rights Act. Under the guise of “preventing fraud,” new attacks on voting rights — from voter ID laws and purges of voter rolls to restrictions on early voting and physically limiting access to the polls — are creating a new regime of suppression built on the foundations of Jim Crow.
What we believe
Voting is the most basic right in any democracy.
American Jews have long stood with disenfranchised communities in support of voting rights. We support efforts at every level of government to fight voter suppression and ensure access to the ballot box for every American. This includes increasing voter registration, educating voters about key political issues, assisting those who need help in getting to the polls, and fighting state legislative efforts to make it harder for people to vote.
At the federal level, we are engaged with our coalition partners in the fight to pass two pieces of transformative legislation:
- Assembly Constitutional Amendment 4 (ACA 4) would restore the right to vote to individuals convicted of felonies, restore the right to vote to individuals incarcerated in county prisons, and help shape a prison system that truly rehabilitates incarcerated individuals while preparing them to re-enter society.
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Connections: Jewish Sources
For any community matter on which they cannot find common ground, they should convene all taxpayers, and they should agree that each will voice his or her view for the selfless benefit of the community, and they will follow the majority. — Shulchan Arukh, Choshen Mishpat 163:1
If, in your opinion, the majority are about to commit an error in judgment, do not remain silent because they are the majority, but state your view. This applies even if you know beforehand that they will not accept your viewpoint but that of the majority. — The Rashbam commentary on Exodus 23:2 V 1
Rabbi Yitzhak taught, “A ruler is not to be appointed unless the community is first consulted.” — Talmud, B’rachot 55a