Khalif Ali says “codifying voting rights … is a moral imperative”

“McKees Rocks [Pennsylvania] residents won’t be arriving at the borough’s municipal building to cast primary ballots for more than two weeks, but voting was on Mayor David Flick’s mind Friday morning. He kicked off a news conference on the topic — or, more specifically, on voting rights — by pointing out that too many United States citizens simply don’t bother to vote.

Codifying voting rights through comprehensive legislation is not just a matter of policy, it is a moral imperative.

“‘Think about the rest of the planet,’ he said while standing in a second-floor meeting room of the borough building, which serves as a polling location. ‘A lot of people risk their lives to show up at a place like this. We get to do it and not even think about it.’

“The other speakers, standing nearby, nodded in agreement. They’re among those who have been thinking about it, and they’re concerned voting is becoming more difficult, thanks to voting restrictions Republican lawmakers are putting into place in several parts of the country. …

“Khalif Ali [Leading with Conviction™ 2020], director of the voting rights organization New Pennsylvania Project, said that Americans ‘cannot turn a blind eye’ to the threats facing the country’s democratic institutions and practices.

“‘Codifying voting rights through comprehensive legislation is not just a matter of policy, it is a moral imperative,’ he said.”

Read the full story at UnionProgress.com.

(Photo above: Steve Mellon/Pittsburgh Union Progress)