April 14th, 2021

Oregon Democrats condemn
​Georgia's voter suppression law

Resolution urges lawmakers to do everything in their power to pass H.R. 1, the For The People Act
March 14, 2021
The Democratic Party of Oregon (DPO) State Central Committee last weekend passed an emergency resolution condemning Georgia’s recently passed voter suppression law, and calling on legislators to do everything in their power to pass H.R. 1, the "For The People Act."
The resolution was submitted by DPO Vice Chair and Black Caucus Chair, Dr. Rosa Colquitt, in response to Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signing Senate Bill 202 into law in late March. 
"SB 202 serves no purpose other than to make voting more difficult, especially for Black and Brown voters, low-income voters, and other racial and ethnic minorities," said Dr. Colquitt. "This is just one of hundreds of voter suppression bills filed in nearly every single state this year, and each of them poses a fundamental threat to our democracy. I am proud that the Democratic Party of Oregon is taking a strong stand against Jim Crow 2.0, and we urge our legislators to take swift action to pass the For The People Act to expand Americans’ access to the ballot box and stop states from enforcing discriminatory voting laws like SB 202."
The resolution details how SB 202 violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by making it harder for Black and Brown Georgians to access the ballot, violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution by creating burdensome and discriminatory effects on the right to vote for all citizens, substantially restricts the use of ballot dropboxes, and imposes many more voter suppression policies.
"As Oregonians, we are proud of our best-in-the-nation voting rights laws," said Democratic Party of Oregon Chair Carla "KC" Hanson. "With this resolution, we stand firmly in solidarity with voters in Georgia and everywhere who are facing voter suppression, and call on elected leaders to act accordingly."
In addition, the resolution calls upon state and local governments to look to Oregon’s nation-leading model to simplify the voting process and expand voters’ access to their democracy, including conducting all elections by paper ballots sent to voters that can be returned at any county dropbox until polls close on Election Day. 
The full text of the resolution can be found here.