By: Teddy Grant

Former President Barack Obama said Monday that American democracy would be at risk if Congress doesn’t pass voting rights legislation before the 2022 midterm elections.

“We can’t wait until the next election because if we have the same kinds of shenanigans that brought about Jan. 6, if we have that for a couple more election cycles, we’re going to have real problems in terms of our democracy long-term,” Obama said on a tele-town hall call with grassroots supporters, according to The Hill.

Obama said that Republicans are using the filibuster as a “tool for obstruction” and that Republicans plan to use it to block the For the People Act this week, NBC News reported.

“Think about this: In the aftermath of an insurrection, with our democracy on the line and many of the same Republican senators going along with the notion that somehow there were irregularities and problems with legitimacy in our most recent election, they’re suddenly afraid to even talk about these issues and figure out a solution on the floor of the Senate,” he said.

The For the People Act is up for a vote in the Senate this week but isn’t expected to pass. The legislation doesn’t have enough support to overcome the filibuster, according to The Hill.