Alabama football coach Nick Saban urges West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin to support Voting Rights
Alabama football coach and West Virginia native, Nick Saban was among a handful of sports figures to sign a letter urging Sen. Joe Manchin, to support the passage of the voting rights bill passed by congress last week.
The letter, which was made public on Monday, was also signed by NBA Hall of Famer Jerry West, former West Virginia athletic director Oliver Luck, former NFL All-Pro Darryl Talley and former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue.
"We come from some of our Nation's most popular sports leagues, conferences and teams," the letter said. "Some of us have roots and shaped our lives in West Virginia, other followed very different paths and some of us have been rivals in sports or business. But we are all certain that democracy is best when voting is open to everyone on a level playing field; the referees are neutral; and at the end of the game the final score is respected and accepted."
The package before the Senate would make Election Day a national holiday and require access to early voting and mail-in ballots that became overwhelmingly popular during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Voting advocates nationwide have warned that Republican-led states like Florida, Texas and Georgia have passed laws making it more difficult for Black Americans and others to vote by consolidating polling locations, requiring certain types of identification and ordering other changes.
The states' laws prompted Democrats on Capitol Hill to push for federal voting rights legislation. Last week, the House approved the combination of two proposed voting rights bills — the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
In their public letter to Manchin, Saban and others asked for protections against impartial conduct and score-keeping, and for elections to be open to all Americans.
"Our democracy is at its best when all Americans are encouraged to participate," the letter said. "We support measures to provide voters with a range of opportunities to obtain and cast a lawful ballot, including robust in-person, early, and absentee voting options. We support the use of election security, equipment and record-keeping measures that are reliable and evidence-based, and clearly support the integrity of the election process."
In order for the Democrats to advance the legislation without Republican support, they will have to change filibuster rules which would require support from Senator Kyrsten Sinema and Manchin.