Voting Rights Update

CWA Next Gen Workshop Targets Voting Rights

On Saturday, June 26, CWA Next Generation hosted a workshop to educate members about ongoing voter suppression efforts in states across the nation. Lead Activists Amanda Bratcher (CWA Local 3808) and Carissa Hahn (CWA Local 37083) welcomed Georgia State Senator Nikki Merritt – a member of CWA Local 3204 – and Adrian Fontes, the former Recorder of Maricopa County, Ariz.

Sen. Merritt outlined systematic efforts in Georgia, where Republican legislators are making voting harder for Black, Hispanic, disabled, elderly, and poor citizens in an effort to maintain their hold on power in the state. “We saw over 100 anti-voter bills introduced in the Georgia legislature in reaction to the high turnout, especially of Black voters, in 2020. They decided they had to change the rules so they wouldn’t have that high turnout again.”

Freedom Ride for Voting Rights

This month, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the original Freedom Rides that challenged segregation in busing and public facilities, Black Voters Matter activists participated in a voter outreach bus tour from Georgia to Washington, D.C.

CWA members turned out along the route to welcome the bus and rally in support of voting rights reform and the federal For the People Act. The Freedom Ride for Voting Rights culminated in a rally on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., this past Saturday.

CWA Members in Nashville, Tenn., welcomed the Freedom Ride for Voting Rights and shared information about the fight against so-called Right to Work legislation and CWA’s Build Broadband Better project.