WASHINGTON – Today, Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-03) released the following statement after voting in support of the House Amendment to Senate Amendment to H.R. 5746 which included the Freedom to Vote and John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act. This marks the fifth time that House Democrats have voted to protect the right to vote with unanimous Republican opposition.

“Protecting our democracy means ensuring that our elections remain free and fair. We have seen voting rights under attack in Arizona and across the country. Trump, the Republican Party, and his allies are hard at work restricting our access to the polls using partisan gerrymandering to draw congressional districts that deny people fair representation and ​passing restrictive voting laws that dilute the power of voters of color. Thus far, 19 states have passed 34 new laws making it harder to vote and easier to sabotage our elections.

The Senate must pass this ​critical legislation. It’s their turn to fight back against undemocratic policies and to prevent Republicans from overturning the will of the people. ​For Arizona, the stakes are too high. In Arizona and around the nation, we have Republican political candidates running as pawns in Trump’s Big Lie movement using brazen tactics of intimidation and lies to​ sow distrust and undermine the integrity of future elections.

Time is running out and the Senate must do whatever it takes to get the Freedom to Vote Act and John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act signed into law. If the filibuster can be reformed for corporate tax cuts, they can do it to protect the freedom to vote. ​As elected officials, we swore an oath to protect and serve in the people’s interest, not the elite powerbrokers and corporate special interests. Arizonans know first-hand how damaging voter suppression laws can be and it’s time for Senators Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly to act to protect the freedom to vote for all.”

More information on the Freedom to Vote Act can be found here.