Editor’s note: The following letter, signed by more than 40 faith leaders, is sponsored by Delaware Interfaith Power and Light and will be delivered to Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., today.
As faith leaders and faith-based advocates in the state of Delaware, we write to you today about the urgent need to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. We greatly appreciate your support for these two bills, but we urge you to actively support filibuster reform, so that the bills can get passed and onto President Joe Biden’s desk for a signature.
All of our faith traditions have teachings about the need to care for our neighbors and care for the sacred planet we share. The faith community affirms that every human being is a person of dignity and worth. In a secular democracy, fair and just democratic systems are central to the assertion of that dignity and worth.
All over the country, anti-voter extremists in state legislatures have been changing laws to make it more difficult for Black and Brown Americans to cast their ballots, and attacks on the freedom to vote continue. These assaults threaten our democracy, and the well-being of our people hangs in the balance — especially in communities of color. Millions of Americans, particularly in marginalized Black and Brown communities, will have their votes suppressed if leaders fail to pass federal protections and standards of access for exercising our sacred right to vote.
In Delaware and across the nation, we saw record voter turnout in 2020, largely due to expanded options for voting. Delaware has always been a leader in democracy, and election rules in the First State already reflect many of the values reflected by the Freedom to Vote Act, although there are anti-voter extremists in Dover who oppose pro-voter bills. As people of faith, we are also mindful of our less fortunate neighbors who are facing disenfranchisement from barriers to voting in other states. The voting and election reforms in the bill, written by the late Rep. John Lewis, would set federal baseline standards of access for every eligible voter, regardless of where they live.
The Freedom to Vote Act is the bold, comprehensive bill we need because the threats to our democracy are deep, systemic and wide-ranging, and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would restore important safeguards designed to prevent the return of Jim Crow-style voting restrictions. Both are necessary to save democratic self-government, and neither will pass unless the Senate revises the filibuster, a mere procedural rule that President Barack Obama has called a “Jim Crow relic.”
Our democracy is sacred, and voting is a sacred act. We must value the voices of everyone in our communities, not just the most powerful. As people of faith and as your constituents, we ask that you strongly and publicly support filibuster reform to pass the Freedom to Vote Act. We would like to thank Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., for meeting with diverse coalition members recently, and we would like to make a humble request to Sen. Coons for making some time to speak with us to discuss his views.
Delaware Interfaith Power and Light
on behalf of 40-plus religious leaders
Irfan Patel, president, Islamic Society of Delaware
The Rev. Robert P. Hall, president, Christian Coalition of Delmarva
Charanjeet Singh Minhas, founder, Delaware Sikh Coalition
John Sykes, president, Delaware Interfaith Power and Light
The Rev. Dr. Lyle J. Dykstra, retired pastor, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
The Rev. Amy D. Yarnall, pastor, Wesley United Methodist Church, Dover
The Rev. Paula Maiorano, executive director, A Center for Relational Living
Ed and Jo Klinge, co-conveners, Interfaith Leaders for Neighborhood Ministries, Wilmington
Rabbi Yair Robinson, Congregation Beth Emeth, Wilmington
Dr. John Graham, bishop, Temple United Church, Wilmington
The Rev. Corey Fields, pastor, Calvary Baptist Church, Newark
The Rev. Andy Jacob, pastor, Hanover Presbyterian Church, Wilmington
The Rev. Susan Loney, assistant pastor, Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, Wilmington
The Rev. David Andrews, Episcopal Church of Sts. Andrew & Matthew, Wilmington
Arqum Rashid, imam and resident scholar, Islamic Society of Central Delaware, Dover
Pramod “Paul” Mathur, trustee, Hindu Temple of Delaware, Hockessin
The Rev. Dr. Melissa Lemmons, Unity Lutheran Church, Wilmington
The Rev. Larry Peers, First Unitarian Church, Wilmington
The Rev. Shada Sullivan, The Church of the Holy City, Wilmington
The Rev. C.J. Ransdell, pastor, St. John’s Lutheran Church, Dover
Janet Bordley, president, Delaware Conference Missionary
The Rev. Diane Fisher, elder, Metropolitan Community Church of Rehoboth Beach
The Rev. Gregory Pelley, Unitarian Universalist Society of Mill Creek, Newark
The Rev. Martha Kirkpatrick, canon, The Episcopal Church in Delaware
The Rev. Mark Walters, interim pastor, St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church, Wilmington
The Rev. Charles Lane Cowen, assistant rector, Trinity Episcopal Parish, Wilmington
The Rev. Charles S. Weiss, rector, Christ Episcopal Church, Dover
The Rev. Jay Hutchinson, St. Andrew’s School, Middletown
La Vaida Owens-White, nurse, St. Joseph/St. Patrick Roman Catholic churches et al.
The Rev. Cynthia Robinson, New Ark United Church of Christ, Newark
Liz Carlisle, social justice chair, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Newark
The Rev. Timothy Bostick, Limestone Presbyterian Church, Wilmington
The Rev. W. James Thomas, bishop, Calvary Baptist Church, Dover
The Rev. Blaine Hackett, pastor, St. John AM Church, Newark
The Rev. Joseph Archie, district superintendent, United Methodist Church
The Rev. Sandra Ben, pastor, Praying Ground Community Church
The Rev. Kathy Ierien, Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, Wilmington
Rabbi Douglas Krantz, retired
The Rev. Earle Baker, United Methodist Church, retired
The Rev. Ray Eck, pastor, New Castle United Methodist Church
Rabbi Michael Beals, Congregation Beth Shalom, Wilmington
The Rev. Cathy Rion Starr, UU the Vote
