“The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color or previous servitude.” “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”

Whether it be a poll tax, literacy tests, voter purging, limitations on early and absentee voting, people of color have been disenfranchised for far too long. The right to vote is sacrosanct and paramount to a successful democracy. While the Constitution prohibits your right to vote from being denied based on race or sex, it does not prevent against voter inactivity. The right to vote is the only right that can be lost if not used. In the past decade, millions of law-abiding citizens have been purged from the voter rolls. Currently, right wing groups seek to purge up to 800,000 voters in Pennsylvania. We NEED our elected officials to fight hard to protect our right to vote by writing and passing legislation that eliminates voter purging. Voter purging is a form of voter suppression that impacts communities of color and impoverished communities. When entire communities begin to think the process is not for them, the notion of democracy begins to erode. YOUR VOTE IS YOUR VOICE, and it should not be silenced.