While former President Trump supporters were shoveled lies, U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16th, backed Trump on every instance, even up to the last most egregious lie that the election was fraudulent.

Kelly and Butler attorney Thomas King III spent several months filing lawsuits to that affect, and all of those lawsuits were thrown out by the courts.

Their goal was to overturn 2.5 million of our votes. The vote is the most powerful tool we own in our democracy, and they were determined to make sure that our votes did not count.

Republicans should be warned that suppressing the vote of minorities only drives those voters to another party. That is why, according to Pew Research, 87% of black voters identify with the Democratic Party, and according to Brookings, Asian Americans who formerly sided with the Republican Party now vote two to one in favor of the Democratic Party.

If Republicans continue along this path, the size of their party will continue to dwindle.

According to the New York Times, after the January insurrection at the Capitol, 79,000 Republicans left their party, including 12,000 in Pennsylvania alone.

Voting should not be a hardship. It is every American’s right to have easy access to casting their ballot and being assured that it will count.

Congressman Kelly, your actions have caused you to lose the trust of your constituents.

Kathleen Richardson,

Mars