Tim Kaine: Protecting every American’s right to vote is anything but a partisan issue

I grew up in the Kansas City area. My parents taught me the value of family and hard work. I carried those lessons with me through my time as a missionary in Honduras, my work as a civil rights attorney and my decades of public service.

My mom also taught me another lesson I’ve carried with me: if you want to be right, be a pessimist — but if you want to do right, be an optimist.

I’ve thought about what it means to do right a lot this past year, in the wake of the failed insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021. Had that insurrection been successful, it would have nullified the votes of the 80 million Americans who cast their ballots for Joe Biden. It would have been a disenfranchisement of historic proportions.

Trump’s Big Lie — that because he lost, there must have been fraud — led to the attack last January, but it has also continued to corrode our democracy since then. Numerous state legislatures have been animated by that same lie to restrict voting access, allow partisan legislators to override nonpartisan election officials and even threaten jail time for Americans who help their neighbors vote.

I believe that the members of Congress who were in the Capitol that day share a unique experience and a unique burden. That’s why our response to efforts to demean the integrity of our elections must be to take action to safeguard that integrity and protect all Americans’ right to vote. That’s what the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would do.

This legislation is about democracy itself. It’s about stopping certain states’ efforts at mass disenfranchisement. This legislation would set minimum standards for federal elections to ensure that people are able to cast their ballots, have confidence that those ballots will be counted with integrity, and trust that the final result will be accurate. It would require transparency in campaign contributions and mandate non-partisan redistricting for congressional seats. People should be able to participate in our democracy without schemes or penalties or endless hurdles getting thrown in their path.

The right to vote is sacred and foundational for all other rights. Without it, we cannot safeguard our country from threats foreign and domestic.

Some attack the voting rights bills as partisan, but they are anything but partisan. They contain provisions popular with Republican, Democratic and independent voters. And making voting more convenient and secure doesn’t just help one party. Just last year, Virginia, the state I represent, expanded access to early voting and vote by mail. As a result, we had the highest voter turnout for a gubernatorial election in recent history — and elected a Republican governor. Virginia’s most recent election is proof that making it easier for people to participate means more people will participate, regardless of political party.

Fundamentally, that’s all the Freedom to Vote Act and John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would do. They would make it easier for all Americans to vote.

The best antidote to the mass disenfranchisement effort of Jan. 6 is ensuring that the voices of all Americans can be heard.

This last year has been the most serious stress test for our democracy since the Civil War. We have survived that test, but whether we’ve actually passed it remains to be seen. Jan. 6 was one of the darkest days in American history. To pass the test it poses, we must turn that darkness into something positive. We must do right.

Making sure that all Americans can vote is doing right. Restoring a Senate that works for the people is doing right. Protecting our democracy is doing right.

I’m optimistic that we’ll get it done.