Thank you for your continued support for New Virginia Majority. Here is our monthly newsletter to stay up to date on all the events, actions, and advocacy from our organization. Read ahead for updates on the work NVM has been part of this February.
General Assembly Wrap-Up
Our policy team advocated and lobbied for historic legislation to make a more progressive Virginia. We supported over 60 bills this year regarding workers' rights, expanding democracy, healthcare, environmental justice, immigrant rights, criminal justice, housing, and education. Some of the most notable bills we helped pass are:
- Abolishing the death penalty including those currently under a death sentence
- Establishing the Virginia Voting Rights Act to prohibit discriminatory voting procedures and prevent voter suppression tactics to protect the right to vote
- Extending tenant protections established during the COVID-19 pandemic beyond the original sunset date of July 1, 2021.
- All in-state students have access to state financial aid regardless of immigration status
- Expanding emergency Medicaid to cover COVID-19 testing, treatments, and vaccination, regardless of immigration status
- Prohibiting school boards from suing families to collect school meal debt
Right to Vote Rally
On February 6th New Virginia Majority’s Right to Vote chapter held a rally outside of the Virginia Science Museum where state senators were considering HJ 555 and SJ 272 to amend the constitution of Virginia so people with felonies have the automatic right to vote. If approved by a simple majority in both the House of Delegates and the Senate, the amendments will be re-introduced to the 2022 legislative session. In that session, any amendment approved a second time by the General Assembly will be added to the ballot and voted on in November 2022. If passed, the constitution will be changed to restore voting rights for the formerly incarcerated. Jesse Forman, who was formerly incarcerated said, "My being able to vote makes me feel like a REAL citizen of Virginia because, before that, I felt like a foreigner."
Virginia’s Governor Race Endorsement
If you haven’t heard already, New Virginia Majority is endorsing Senator Jennifer McClellan for Governor of Virginia. Read our press statement here. Join our efforts to make sure Virginia continues its historic streak of firsts: this time, to elect the first Black woman to lead Virginia as Governor as we build a bold and unapologetically progressive future for all of us. Click here to sign up for the Team McClellan volunteer squad for opportunities to phone bank and support McClellan for Governor.
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Your donation - big or small - helps support many initiatives, projects, and actions organized by New Virginia Majority staff, volunteers, and community members. Make sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for the latest updates. Together, we can lead the way toward a progressive Virginia for all of us.
In solidarity,
The Development Team
New Virginia Majority