Blog

#RespectMyVote

Jul 19, 2017

As the “Presidential Commission on Election Integrity” was sworn in and held their first meeting, a broad coalition of cultural, advocacy, and civil rights leaders rallied outside the White House, protesting the administration’s attack on our fundamental right to vote.  LCV’s judiciary program director, Desiree Tims, spoke to the crowd, highlighting that this sham commission’s threat to participation in our democracy is also a threat to the environmental movement:

Thank you to Reverend Yearwood and the Hip Hop Caucus for putting on this critical event today. My name is Desiree Tims, and I am the Judiciary Program Director at the League of Conservation Voters.

Not since the civil rights movement of the 1960’s has there been a more urgent and critical moment to protect our democracy and our fundamental rights to participate equally in it.

We have a leader in President Trump who is spreading falsehoods about voter fraud simply because he can. He has the biggest platform in the world, and he is using it to slowly degrade faith in government.

Now he’s developed a sham commission run by Kris Kobach and Mike Pence – two men who have championed voter suppression efforts that have disproportionately impacted people of color and youth. These are communities that care deeply about environmental issues and are among the most affected by pollution and climate change. 

Any threat to participation is not only a crisis for the people experiencing climate change firsthand, but a threat to the entire environmental movement.  A strong democracy means a strong, powerful environmental movement that reflects the values, priorities and leadership of low-income communities and communities of color.

Today, I stand here as a representative of the League of Conservation Voters to tell you that we are ALL IN on this fight. We are ready to push back in county elections offices, in state houses, in Congress, at the door, on the phone, in the news and here today in Lafayette Park. We are ready to stand with everyone here and the many more communities across the country that will defend the fundamental right to vote.

Together we can make progress on the real threats to our country that come in the form of voter ID LAWS, voter purges, reduced polling locations and more. Trump can have his commission, but he cannot have our democracy!

Thank you!