'Expanding Democracy is How We Protect It'

We Reject Recent Jim Crow Era Attempts to Add Barriers to Voting

Dear Speaker Hortman, Majority Leader Gazelka, and Governor Walz,

We recognize and appreciate your service to the people of Minnesota, and support it. We understand the climate of congress, right now, is tense and your work is not easy. We share your sense of grief over the ways the pandemic has revealed what have long been disparities in our state. 

On the other hand, we call upon you to be emboldened to use your power, to be smart and creative, to work together, and hold fast to policy decisions that affect the precariousness of many Minnesotans' lives. 

As clergy and religious leaders across faith traditions, we believe no matter our race, background, zip code, or how we pray, in order for democracy to work for all of us, it must include us all. Minnesotans across the state have resoundingly declared this - time and time again. 

Beyond the fact that Minnesotans across the state vote in record numbers year after year, Minnesotans also definitively rejected Jim Crow era attempts to add barriers to voting through a ballot initiative in 2012, in addition to speaking out to the almost yearly attempts to push through legislation that demonstrably disenfranchises significant numbers of Black, Indigenious, brown, veteran, elder and lower income Minnesotans. 

Throughout our history -- from Women's Suffrage to Civil Rights --  we have fought to ensure more Americans have our right to vote honored, and that every eligible American is able to cast their vote and have it counted. But a handful of politicians and special interests want to take us backwards, enacting barriers to silence our voices instead of doing their duty to deliver pandemic relief or respond to the systemic racism plaguing our state and country. 

We strongly condemn the Minnesota Senate Leadership's recent attacks on our democracy. Their legislative proposals -- such as forcing people to carry a specific type of ID to vote -- are restrictive, dangerous, and rooted in white supremacy; designed to keep the wealthy, powerful few in positions of excessive power. We said “NO” in 2012 and we are saying “NO” in 2021. 

If there is any path to fix racial inequalities, act on climate change, ensure paid family leave, or provide pandemic relief to families, we must move forward together by ensuring that every eligible Minnesotan can cast a ballot so we are able to elect leaders who govern in our interests and make the promise of our democracy real for us all. 

Minnesota House of Representatives' “Democracy for the People Act” is a necessary step in this urgent moment. We celebrate their commitment to a comprehensive democracy package that uplifts the demands of Minnesotans by expanding access to the ballot box, getting dirty money out of our politics, and centering community driven processes for fair redistricting. 

Expanding democracy in Minnesota - for all of us - is how we protect democracy. 

This is a make or break moment for our democracy and what we do now matters. We are asking for bold leadership and a commitment to a full, thriving, multi-racial democracy. 

In solidarity, 

Clergy and Religious Leaders of Minnesota