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The negotiated framework in the Freedom to Vote Act represents a huge step forward for the people. It shows the Senate is working to find a path forward to get this landmark legislation signed into law. This legislation will strengthen our freedom to vote so that we all, regardless of political party, background, or where we live, have an equal say in the future for our family and community. The legislation leads to fair maps for Congressional districts and ending gerrymandering forever. It also makes important steps to curtail secret money in elections and encourage small-dollar donors to reduce the influence of big money. Every voter should call both of their US Senators now to say, “get the job done, protect the freedom to vote for the people.”

A new investigation by Common Cause’s disinformation analysts has revealed that social media giants Facebook and Twitter seem to have backed away from enforcement of their own policies and enforcement practices when it comes to combatting election-related disinformation. The white paper, “Trending in the Wrong Direction: Social Media Platforms’ Declining Enforcement of Voting Disinformation,” reveals that the social media platforms appear to have dramatically scaled-back their practices of removing or labeling dangerously false claims concerning widespread voter fraud.

The House took a critically important step today toward protecting the freedom of every American to vote by passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. The Senate must follow suit and pass this legislation to repair and strengthen the landmark Voting Rights Act which played a key role in beating back the racist and discriminatory Jim Crow laws . New discriminatory voting laws, designed to strip Black and Brown communities of political clout by making it harder for them to vote, are once again being passed after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act in 2013. This year, 18 states have already enacted 30 restrictive voting bills that make it harder for Americans to have a say in choosing our elected leaders.

Common Cause is urging every member of the U.S. House of Representatives to vote “yes” on the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (H.R. 4) to protect the freedom to vote of every American at a time when voting rights are under attack. The letter emphasizes that already this year, 18 states have enacted 30 restrictive voting bills that make it harder for Americans – particularly in Black and Brown communities - to have a say in choosing their elected leaders. The letter also notes that Common Cause plans to key-vote this legislation in our Democracy Scorecard, which we send to our 1.5 million members. 

It is critically important that Congress pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to protect the freedom to vote of every American. The legislation, introduced today in the United States House of Representatives, will repair much of the damage done to the Voting Rights Act by the Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Roberts. In concert with the For the People Act, this legislation will curb the coordinated effort by Republican state legislatures across the country to silence Black and Brown voters who showed up in record numbers last year to vote. Already this year, 18 states have enacted 30 restrictive voting bills that make it harder for Americans to have a say in choosing our elected leaders.

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