Our entire democracy is now at risk. Those words are part of a “Statement of Concern” signed by dozens of self-described academic scholars of democracy. They aren’t just raising a red flag about recent voter suppression initiatives, they are sounding an alarm that should reverberate in the halls of Congress. Chris Hahn, a political pundit and ex-aide To Senator Charles Schumer, wrote, “Wake up! This Statement of Concern should send a shiver down your spine. American Democracy is in serious jeopardy.”
In the document, the people from across the political spectrum write:
We have watched with deep concern as Republican-led state legislatures across the country have in recent months proposed or implemented what we consider radical changes to core electoral procedures in response to unproven and intentionally destructive allegations of a stolen election.
The statement ends by asking those in power to take action:
We urge members of Congress to do whatever is necessary—including suspending the filibuster—in order to pass national voting and election administration standards that both guarantee the vote to all Americans equally, and prevent state legislatures from manipulating the rules in order to manufacture the result they want.