(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), joined a virtual vigil with Washington state activists and leaders on the one year anniversary of the January 6th insurrection and attack on the U.S. Capitol. The event is one of hundreds of similar vigils that will take place across the country, including at the U.S. Capitol. During the event, Senator Murray reflected on the January 6th attack, and emphasized the importance of passing strong voting rights and election protections to ensure future attempts to subvert American democracy don’t succeed.
“January 6th showed us in no uncertain terms how fragile our democracy can be—and what could happen if we don’t defend it,” said Senator Murray. “As your Senator, I know I have a responsibility to stand up for our democratic process and ensure nothing like January 6th ever happens again. A responsibility to ensure leaders are chosen not by violence—but by elections where every eligible citizen in this country can make their voice heard at the ballot box. That is one of the reasons why I have long said passing strong voting rights protections will be the most important thing we do this Congress.”
“If we are going to learn from January 6th, then we cannot sit idly by and just hope our democracy survives,” Senator Murray continued. “And we cannot let Senate procedure—which has changed many times over the years, and as recently as last month—stand in the way of getting this done. We have an opportunity to protect the right to vote in this country. So I am doing everything I can to make sure we have 50 votes to get this done.”
The event included recorded messages from Representative Pramila Jayapal and other Washington state elected officials, as well as live messages from Charles Douglas III, Executive Director of pro-democracy group Common Power; Liz Bander, a board member with the national League of Women Voters organization; and singer/songwriter Brittain Ashford. The event was hosted by Fix Democracy First, Seattle Supports Democracy, League of Women Voters (LWV) of Washington, LWV of Kittitas County, LWV of Clark County, LWV of Thurston County, LWV of Mason County.
Even following the attempts on January 6th to overturn the 2020 presidential election, Republicans have blocked even consideration of voting rights legislation, which currently requires 60 votes in the Senate, several times throughout this year. Three times, every single Senate Republican voted against even debating voting rights legislation, and in November, only one Republican joined Democrats to move to debate on the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which restores the power of the 1965 Voting Rights Act—legislation that has historically had strong bipartisan support.
Senator Murray is determined to make sure the Senate can act on voting rights, and has consistently stated that federal voting rights protections are a top priority for her, telling KUOW earlier this summer that the For the People Act was, “the most important” bill the Senate would vote on this Congress. In March, Murray also announced her support for an exemption to the filibuster on voting rights protections, telling the Spokesman-Review, “the For the People Act is essential to making sure our democracy stays a democracy and I will consider every legislative option, including an exemption to the filibuster, to ensure it can be signed into law.”
Senator Murray has been a long-time advocate of improving voting access and election security to make sure every eligible American has the ability to vote. An original cosponsor of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, Senator Murray helped reintroduce the bill in October of this year. Following House passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act earlier this summer, Senator Murray called for quick action using all legislative tools available to pass the bill. Senator Murray has also been a vocal advocate for the Freedom to Vote Act, and has pushed for the Senate to take action on the bill.
Senator Murray’s remarks from the event are included below.
“Thank you so much for the opportunity to talk with you all today.
“January 6th was a horrifying day for our country—and it is a day we cannot forget or ignore.
“Americans—our fellow citizens—tried to stop our democratic process with brute force in order to overturn a free and fair election, simply because they did not like the outcome.
“That is not how democracy works in this country.
“We use our voices and votes to decide elections—not violence.
“Now, voices and votes did end up winning out that day.
“My colleagues and I came back to the Capitol to do our jobs to certify the 2020 presidential election.
“And I’m very grateful to the brave Capitol Police officers who defended us on January sixth—including several who lost their lives that day and in the following days—and everyone that works in the Capitol who made the certification of the election possible.
“But that outcome was not guaranteed.
“January 6th showed us in no uncertain terms how fragile our democracy can be—and what could happen if we don’t defend it.
“As your Senator, I know I have a responsibility to stand up for our democratic process and ensure nothing like January 6th ever happens again.
“A responsibility to ensure leaders are chosen not by violence—but by elections where every eligible citizen in this country can make their voice heard at the ballot box.
“That is one of the reasons why I have long said passing strong voting rights protections will be the most important thing we do this Congress.
“It’s urgent, because in states across the country, far-right Republican lawmakers are passing dangerously restrictive voter suppression laws.
“Laws that make it difficult for Americans—mostly people of color—to cast a ballot and make their voice heard.
“And Americans all over the country are asking: what will we do about it?
“The big thing we absolutely must do is pass strong voting rights protections in the Senate to make sure our democracy stays a democracy.
“And I’ve been clear we need to everything we can to get that done.
“Because here’s where things stand: right now, the Senate is broken.
“When we wanted to debate the Freedom to Vote Act to do things like make Election Day a holiday, end gerrymandering, or make early voting and voting by mail an option for everyone, Republicans—every single one—blocked a debate.
“When we wanted to debate the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act that would build on the historic 1965 Voting Rights Act to prevent discrimination on the basis of race at the ballot box, Republicans—all but one—blocked a debate.
“And that was a bill whose previous reauthorizations have had strong bipartisan support.
“Senate procedure has empowered unprecedented Republican obstruction over Democratic action.
“And if the Senate remains broken in this way, Democrats—who control the White House, the House, and the Senate and were elected to help protect Americans’ right to vote—are left with no legislative options to address the dangerous rise of voter suppression laws sweeping the nation.
“And let me be clear: that can’t be the end of the road.
“We are at a really critical moment where our democracy is extremely vulnerable—like we saw one year ago today—and strong federal voting rights protections are the best, most important step we can take to make sure our democracy stays a democracy.
“If we are going to learn from January 6th, then we cannot sit idly by and just hope our democracy survives.
“And we cannot let Senate procedure—which has changed many times over the years, and as recently as last month—stand in the way of getting this done.
“We have an opportunity to protect the right to vote in this country.
“So I am doing everything I can to make sure we have 50 votes to get this done.
“We have to take action on voting rights legislation to protect our democracy, and I’m committed to using every legislative tool available—including an exception to the filibuster—to make this happen.
“Thank you again to Fix Democracy First, Seattle Supports Democracy, and the League of Women Voters of Washington for inviting me to speak with you all today—but more importantly, I want to thank all of you for your work and activism on behalf of our democracy.
“Using your voices to push for change is a hallmark of our democratic process—so I encourage you to keep pushing for action.
“It was voices and votes that put President Biden and Vice President Harris in the White House and put in place a, however narrow, Democratic majority in the Senate, and voices and votes are how we will pass voting rights and take action on so many other challenges our country faces this Congress.”
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