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Say the legislation “is the bold, comprehensive bill we need because the threats to our democracy are deep, systemic, and wide-ranging”

President Biden's important speech today in Philadelphia about protecting the freedom to vote must be met with the Senate passing legislation before they depart for their August recess. We thank him for his bold remarks. As the President said, there is an unfolding assault on democracy and on liberty today with clear attempts to suppress and subvert the freedom to vote in free and fair elections. Administrative action, litigation, and organizing are critical to combat this, but these tactics are not a substitute for congressional action on the For the People Act and John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.   As the President ramps-up his use of the bully pulpit and engages with senators, we urge him to make clear that the Senate minority’s use of the filibuster—a Jim Crow relic, in the words of former President Obama—must never stand in the way of the freedom to vote.

A letter signed by almost 100 small business and community leaders urging Senator Susan Collins to support the “For the People Act” was released at an event at Portland City Hall. More than four dozen people gathered at a rally sponsored by Common Cause to hear local business leaders explain why the bill needs to become law.

Today’s Supreme Court rulings on voting rights and nonprofit financial disclosure make clear that there is no alternative but to pass the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to protect our democracy. The high court struck another blow against voting rights today and also made it more difficult for states to monitor fundraising by “dark money” nonprofits. Now it falls to Congress to protect the freedom of every American to vote without being subject to intimidation or discrimination regardless of the color of their skin, their background, or their zip code.

Tonight, there were no surprises in the opening act of the push to pass the For the People Act in the United States Senate. But grassroots momentum continues to build in a fight that will go on all summer as we continue to make the case to the American people and their representatives in Washington that this legislation must be passed to expand the freedom to vote, break the grip of big money in politics, end gerrymandering, and crack down on corruption.  

Today, Common Cause urged every member of the U.S. Senate to vote “yes” to advance the For the People Act in a vote expected later this week. The letter notes that Common Cause plans to score this vote in the next version of our Democracy Scorecard which we send to our 1.5 million members. The pro-voter, anti-corruption bill contains the most comprehensive set of democracy reforms to be introduced in Congress since the post-Watergate reforms were passed in the 1970s. The letter emphasizes that our democracy faces a crisis in the wake of insurrectionists storming the Capitol and hundreds of GOP voter suppression bills – largely targeting Black and Brown Americans - introduced in state legislatures since Republicans lost the White House and control of the Senate in the November election. It points to the fact that at least 14 states have already passed nearly two dozen restrictive voting bills already this year.