Fighting Voter Suppression

Voting rights are under attack in 2025! Help us protect our generation's freedom to vote!

The battle for voting rights is part of the larger fight against white supremacy, corporate interests, and the disenfranchisement of marginalized communities. 100 years after the end of slavery & 15th Amendment, civil rights leaders marched at Selma to demand that all are guaranteed the freedom to vote—resulting in the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Today, our freedom to vote is under assault from state and federal actors. In 2010, SCOTUS ruled on Shelby v. Holder, overturning the preclearance requirement of the Voting Rights Act and opening the door for states to increase partisan & racial gerrymandering, restricted access to the polls, and voter ID requirements.

Meanwhile, right-wing & corporate interests have sought to end the referendum process in several states as citizens geared up to protect reproductive rights and limit dark money spending in state elections. We’re fighting (and winning) to protect the people’s most direct form of democracy. Read more here.

In 2025, the MAGA movement introduced the SAVE Act into Congress. If passed, SAVE would suppress over 21 million female, married, trans, young, Black, and working-class voters. Read more about our battle against the SAVE Act here.

We’re fighting—in the statehouses and in the streets—for our generation’s freedom to vote. We’re advocating with our allies to pass voting rights act in states across the country—to protect against attacks from autocrats & white supremacists. 

We won’t stand back as our Black, queer, and working-class peers are denied the electoral justice they deserve.

Read more about our plan to defend and expand voting rights below:

National Objectives
  • Organizing students federally to advocate for bills like the For the People Act (Freedom to Vote Act), the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, Native American Voting Rights Advancement Act, and other federal voting rights legislation. This includes elevating calls for making election day a federal holiday, same day & automatic voter registration, etc…
  • Organizing students to oppose federal voter suppression measures like the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, the Americans for Clean Elections (ACE) Act, & other federal bills meant to target the voter eligibility of, or access for, poor & marginalized communities.
State Objectives
  • Organizing to defeat threats to the ballot initiative process in states and defending citizen-led referenda as a tool for reform.
  • Supporting State Amplification Network allies in advancing local voting rights legislation or opposing state voter suppression measures.
  • Supporting state allies and coordinating with local elections officials for greater accessibility of polling locations and ballot drop boxes in historically underserved counties. Centering areas like: black & brown neighborhoods, low-income communities, and a special focus on college campuses.

More From Students for Voting Rights

Youth Voting Rights Groups Urge House to Reject the SAVE Act, Vow to Fight in the Senate
April 15, 2025
Youth Voting Rights Groups Urge House to Reject the SAVE Act, Vow to Fight in the Senate
Students from GenVote, Bulletproof Pride, and the Task Force for Democracy advocated at the House of Representatives against MAGA’s harmful voter suppression measure, which would impact tens of millions of vulnerable voters.
Read more
Dangerous Voter Suppression Bill Would Leave Fate of Elections Uncertain
March 31, 2025
Dangerous Voter Suppression Bill Would Leave Fate of Elections Uncertain
Congressional Republicans reintroduced the SAVE Act, which seeks to disenfranchise millions of citizens through repressive voter ID laws.
Read more
Task Force for Democracy Joins 100+ Organizations in Letter Calling for Senate to Vote No on GOP Continuing Resolution, Protect DC Autonomy
March 17, 2025
Task Force for Democracy Joins 100+ Organizations in Letter Calling for Senate to Vote No on GOP Continuing Resolution, Protect DC Autonomy
Organizations Urge Senators to Vote No on Cloture and Any Continuing Resolution that Threatens D.C.’s Autonomy.
Read more
60 Years Since Selma: The Fight for Voting Rights Continues
March 11, 2025
60 Years Since Selma: The Fight for Voting Rights Continues
On this day sixty years ago, hundreds of young people marched through Selma for the right to vote. For their bravery, they were beaten and bloodied; yet their movement marched on. Videos of organized young people inspired a nation and pushed President Johnson to pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Read more
Task Force for Democracy Joins DC Allies in Denouncing Anti-Home Rule Bill as “Direct Attack on American Democracy”
February 8, 2025
Task Force for Democracy Joins DC Allies in Denouncing Anti-Home Rule Bill as “Direct Attack on American Democracy”
Proposed Bill to Overturn D.C. Home Rule is a Direct Attack on American Democracy and States’ Rights.
Read more
Students for Voting Rights Helps Defeat Prop 128, Protecting Arizona’s Referendum
December 6, 2024
Students for Voting Rights Helps Defeat Prop 128, Protecting Arizona’s Referendum
Learn more about how Students for Voting Rights Started and our first win protecting the Arizona referendum process.
Read more