Sociologists for Women in Society

SWS Call to Action Against Voter Disenfranchisement and Support for Federal Voting Rights Legislation  

by

Dear Colleagues:

This is a pivotal moment in our democracy. Consistent with voter suppression and election manipulation, hundreds of repressive bills propose to deliberately reassign, replace, or terminate key precinct- and state-wide easy and accessible voting practices, polling places, and election officials necessary for securing electoral justice. This brazen, cumulative attempt to subvert the will of the people persists, as the Senate refuses to back paths and actions to protect hard fought civil rights, federally. More than 34 voting restrictive laws have already been enacted across 19 states, demonstrating a coordinated effort to discourage, dilute, or delete the votes of Americans, particularly Black, Indigenous, and People of Color who have been historically and intentionally disenfranchised from their civil rights. These regressive actions predate the Jim Crow era, similarly extending from the same racialized motivations that fueled the deadly, attempted white supremacist coup on January 6, 2021 at our nation’s capitol. Not only are civil rights under attack but the very foundations of our participatory democracy are under siege. The Department of Justice must act against discriminatory anti-voting legislation.    

“With no sacredness of the ballot, there can be no sacredness of human life,” stated Black suffragist Ida B. Wells. This is because she and others, including but not limited to, Mary Church Terrell, Nannie Helen Burroughs, and Anna Julia Cooper faced intersecting oppression and outright overlapping threats. Today is no different; the work is ongoing. And like former Georgia gubernatorial candidate and founder of Fair Fight Action Stacey Abrams, we should not only be advocating for “free and fair elections” but doing so, understanding that “victory must begin to mean more than winning a single election.”

As an intersectional, feminist sociological organization, Sociologists for Women in Society (SWS) must take up voter suppression and political violence as central to our activist efforts to dismantle repressive systems of power. SWS is dedicated to promoting social justice through our recognition, advocacy, and support of activist spaces and communities. The actions we must take in this moment will resist and refuse white supremacy, or will enable it through inaction. We must be audacious, bold, and confident in our collective solidarity against oppressive, anti-democracy government and laws.

We acknowledge and take a definitive stand against articulations, actions, and inactions that encourage, support, or protect voting disenfranchisement. We denounce voter suppression and subversion in any form – restrictive identification, voter purging, poll intimidation, ballot tampering, prison-based gerrymandering, and more.

In solidarity with organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), and the NAACP, we echo the sentiments of the Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF) specifically, urging “members of the U.S. Senate to fulfill their Constitutional and moral obligations by immediately passing the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act by whatever legal means are necessary. Nothing less than the future of democracy in the U.S. is at stake” (NAACP-LDF)

We urge you to also take action, mindful that inaction is a form of complicity.  We cannot allow this orchestrated, unraveling of civil rights.

Time is of the essence.  Here’s how you can get involved immediately:

1. You may write or call your state senators, asking them to support the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Amendment.  

For contacting your Senators particularly, and other elected officials at the federal, state, and local levels, go to: https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials 

Note: For phone calls, you should be prepared to leave your full street address whether a live exchange or voicemail, to ensure that your call is tallied.

  • Letter sample script for writing Senators (and other elected officials):

Hi, my name is _______________________ and I am a constituent of ______________________ (city and zip code).  I am writing to express support for the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Amendment and to recommend Senator ______________ backing for this legislation. This is even if it means also acting to abolish the filibuster, in order to clear a path. Accessible voting for all Americans should be protected and nonpartisan. This means voting should also be free of widespread restrictions, intimidation, and manipulation. The future of democracy is at stake.  With numerous restrictive laws enacted countrywide and as a constituent, I urge you to do the right thing and sooner rather than later by advancing federal voting rights acts and processes for them, towards the betterment of this nation.  

  • Phone call sample script for calling Senators (and other elected officials): 

Note: For phone calls, you should be prepared to leave your full street address whether a live exchange or voicemail, to ensure that your call is tallied.

Hi, my name is _______________________ and I am a constituent of ______________________ (city and zip code).  I am calling to express support for the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Amendment.  I am also calling to urge Senator ______________ to back this legislation. This is even if it means also acting to abolish the filibuster, in order to clear a path. Accessible voting for all Americans, free of intimidation and manipulation, should be a protected, nonpartisan matter. 

2. Join efforts in your community, teaming up with organizations like:

Note: There are countless organizations tirelessly engaging in this effort daily.  The previous are just a few for reference.

3. Take to social media, raising awareness and action through the use of hashtags such as:

  • #Giveustheballot
  • #votingrights
  • #FreedomToVoteAct
  • #VotingRightsAct
  • #DeliverForVotingRights
  • #JohnLewisAct

Stay tuned!  Other ways for getting involved may include but are not limited to:

  1. Joining or facilitating campus or workplace activities  
  2. Attending City Council and Town Hall meetings 
  3. Helping register people to vote (via in-person or phone banks)
  4. Postcarding
  5. Donating
  6. Volunteering at polling places
  7. Encouraging others to: know their voter registration statuses and registration deadlines; learn upcoming local/state/national election dates; order ballots early if voting via mail; and stay in line (take a folding chair, if necessary)

In solidarity,

SWS Council and Social Action Committee