Today is the 55th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act––one of the crowning achievements of our democracy. But once the Supreme Court weakened it, some state legislatures unleashed a flood of laws designed specifically to make voting harder, especially in communities of color.

We've got to fight harder to protect the right to vote. It’s one of the most powerful tools we have––and we can start by passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. Once we pass that, we should continue marching forward to make it even better.

We can do this by making sure every American is automatically registered to vote, including formerly incarcerated people. Let’s also make sure to add more polling places, expand early voting, and make Election Day a national holiday.

Let’s guarantee that every citizen has equal representation in our government. And end partisan gerrymandering, so that all voters have the power to choose their politicians. And if all this takes eliminating the filibuster—a Jim Crow relic––then that’s what we should do.

We have to treat voting as the most important action we can take on behalf of democracy. So make sure you are registered to vote. Request a mail-in ballot early and send it back early. Then get your family and friends to do it, too. Every vote counts. http://iwillvote.com