Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA) launched his tenure in the U.S. Senate in 2020 with a passion for the expanding U.S. democracy. This theme was recently picked up in conservative press and it is one that he continues to highlight.
In May of 2026, at the Center for American Progress (CAP) Ideas Conference, Warnock, a former reverend, passionately explained that “democracy is the house we live in,” and further stated that he is focused on Democrats winning the midterms. He pledged that that if Democrats gain power in Congress he will focus especially on expanding democracy by advancing voting rights, including in the U.S. territories. Puerto Rico has voted for statehood uniformly in every vote in which it was on the ballot since 2012. Puerto Ricans similarly value their U.S. citizenship.
Everyone born in Puerto Rico is a U.S. citizen under U.S. law. Yet U.S. citizens who live in Puerto Rico cannot vote in presidential elections, and they have no voting members in Congress.
In a document called “The Future of Voting Rights in America,” Warnock presented the steps and details of his plan for voting rights. The question of statehood for the District of Columbia and U.S. territories is covered in Warnock’s plan for voting rights under the heading, “Expand American Democracy.” Download the document here.
Voting rights
The Senator frequently mentions U.S. territories when we talks about voting rights, which were the focus of his first speech on the Senate floor.
“Ours is a land where possibility is born of democracy. A vote, a voice, a chance to help determine the direction of the country and one’s own destiny within it,” Warnock said at the time. He went on to say that the citizens of Georgia had turned out in record numbers at the last elections. “Far more than ever in our state’s history. Twice as many Georgians voted in the January runoffs than ever before. And the people of Georgia sent the state’s first African American senator and first Jewish senator to these hallowed halls.”
Warnock continued on the theme of the importance of voting rights in his initial Senate speech. “[T]hat sacred and noble idea—one person, one vote—is being threatened right now,” he said. “I submit that it is the job of each citizen to stand up for the voting rights of every citizen. And it is the job of this body to do all that it can to defend the viability of our democracy.”
“Your vote is your voice and your voice is your human dignity,” he went on. “The right to vote is preservative of all other rights. It is not just another issue alongside other issues. It is foundational. It is the reason why any of us has the privilege of standing here in the first place. It is about the covenant we have with one another as an American people. E Pluribus Unum, out of many one. It above all else must be protected.”
