Let My People Vote

Next week, Jews around the world will celebrate Passover and recount our exodus from Egypt 3,000 years ago. The Hebrew word for Egypt, Mitzrayim, means “narrow places” because freedom was narrowed or eliminated under Pharaoh. Escaping tyranny required leadership and persistence, as demonstrated by Moses when he demanded that Pharaoh “let my people go.” While Pharaoh initially resisted, the ten plagues secured the eventual liberation of the Jewish people and freedom in the Promised Land of Israel.

There are clear parallels in the Passover story to the current day. Our freedoms, rights, and democracy have been narrowed by this White House. While we were once strangers in a strange land – and welcoming the stranger is demanded of us more than any other mitzvah in the Torah – this White House has demonized and targeted immigrants and used immigration enforcement to terrorize our communities. It has weaponized the Department of Justice (DOJ) to engage in political retribution and cover-ups, restricted freedom of the press and consolidated media, blurred the separation of church and state, and now aims to “narrow” the way we vote.

Recognizing that Democrats have won and overperformed in nearly every election since November 2024, including this week in his own backyard, Donald Trump is now almost singularly focused on voter suppression in advance of the 2026 midterms. He is demanding that Congress pass the “SAVE America” Act, which would make it harder for almost every American to vote and potentially disenfranchise tens of millions of Americans. If Donald Trump gets his way, the bill would change how all Americans vote ahead of the midterms, including by requiring voter ID and proof of citizenship for registration. It would also impose a federal ban on mail-in voting, which is how Trump himself voted just this week.

The SAVE America Act isn’t the only Trump-led effort to narrow our freedom to vote. In recent months, the DOJ demanded that all 50 states hand over unredacted voter rolls, including partisan identification, to the federal government. While some states complied, many refused, and the DOJ has filed 30 lawsuits demanding unredacted state voter rolls. In one of the hearings, the judge asked the DOJ whether its demand to acquire voting information is “pretextual,” meaning it’s masking ulterior motives.

These motives likely include voter suppression and election subversion, similar to the White House’s threat to deploy ICE to the polls. This week, Trump’s Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche endorsed sending ICE to monitor elections, Trump insider Steve Bannon said the deployment of ICE to airports was a “test run” for their role in the midterms, and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said there was “no guarantee” that ICE wouldn’t be present at the polls.

We won’t allow this narrowing of our voting rights. In honor of Passover, here are ten “plagues” — or actions — to send a message demanding democracy and freedom.

Ten Actions to “Let My People Vote”:

1. Write to your senators, encouraging them to oppose the SAVE America Act. This bill passed the House in February and is currently pending before the Senate, where Republicans do not have the votes to overcome a filibuster. Trump is demanding that the Senate GOP get rid of the filibuster and pass it. Encourage your senators to oppose it.

2. Join a “No Kings” rally near you tomorrow, Saturday, March 28. While I wish these protests – projected to be the biggest protest in U.S. history – weren’t held on Shabbat, for those who are able and willing, take to the streets of your community tomorrow to reject attacks on our freedom of speech, civil rights, and freedom to vote.

3. Read Democracy Docket and follow leading voting rights attorney Marc Elias. We all must stay informed about the unprecedented threats to our democracy and right to vote, and Democracy Docket is the place to go.

4. Join an upcoming JDCA phone bank or canvas. Direct voter engagement is one of the best ways to encourage others to get out the vote.

5. Bring JDCA to your Seder with our annual Seder Companion, which goes into further detail about parallels between the Passover story and today.

6. Proudly display “Let My People Vote” with new JDCA Passover-themed merchandise, including a “Let My People Vote” tote.

7. Become a member or deepen your support of JDCA in honor of Passover. Your support directly expands our advocacy, political, communications, and organizing efforts.

8. Write to your members of Congress about a range of issues of importance to Jewish voters, including the right to vote.

9. Check out and support JDCA’s 121 endorsed candidates via JDCA PAC.

10. Read and share my latest op-ed, What It Means to Be Pro-Israel in 2026, to avoid being “plagued” by tough conversations about Israel this Passover.

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom and early Chag Pesach Sameach,

Halie Soifer
CEO, Jewish Democratic Council of America