Voting rights are under attack in state legislatures around the country. Protecting the right to vote should be a bipartisan issue. Yet many in the GOP are working overtime to restrict voting – and Sen. Collins seems to be acting in line with them.

The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act came up in the Senate recently. It would protect voting rights and restore parts of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that the Supreme Court removed in 2013. Sen. Collins voted against advancing that bill for debate. When I called her office to ask her to vote for the bill, a staffer told me she was opposed to it because it was a “federal takeover” of voting and voting is primarily a state matter. Also, the fact that “Maine has not had these problems” was given as a reason for her opposition.

I also asked why Sen. Collins was voting against even allowing debate on the bill, and the only answer was repeating the “federal takeover” and “Maine has not had these problems” statements.

Come on! This is one country, she is a senator in Washington, and the federal government has had a key role in protecting voting for decades. In this moment, when the threat to our democracy is so immense, how can she fail to do everything possible to protect voting rights?

The advance to authoritarianism is not inevitable, it is happening here and now. I call on Sen. Collins to step up and fight for democracy as an American.

Jennifer Wriggins
Portland