Grace Nolan, grace@team-arc.com
(Washington, DC) — Today, groups led by the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, DEMOS, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) issued a report to commemorate the two-year anniversary of President Biden’s Voting Access Executive Order, which shows the progress agencies have made implementing their plans to expand access to voting.
The report found that a few agencies are on the right track to complete implementing their recommendations by the end of 2024, while several others have fallen behind and are at risk of not achieving the President’s goals.
The climate and environmental movement recognizes that the communities most impacted by the climate crisis and pollution are often the same communities targeted by voter suppression. Confronting the climate crisis and advancing environmental justice fully depends on a functioning democracy that ensures everyone’s rights are safeguarded and their voices are heard.
In response to the progress report, Clean Water Action, Climate Hawks Vote, Earthjustice, Greenpeace USA, League of Conservation Voters, National Wildlife Federation, Sierra Club, and Union of Concerned Scientists released the following statement:
“We applaud President Biden for continuing to prioritize voting rights and our democracy and commend federal agencies, including the Department of the Interior, Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Treasury for implementing plans to expand the freedom to vote and ensure every voter has equitable access to cast their ballot.
"However, this new report makes clear that several agencies are not on track to achieve these crucial goals by the end of 2024.
"We urge President Biden and federal agencies to fulfill the promise of this Executive Order and ensure it is fully implemented before the end of 2024. The attacks on our democracy are unrelenting, and we have no time to waste. Now is the time to finish the job and make our democracy work for everyone.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.