John,

As we prepare to close the book on 2020, we wanted to take this opportunity to thank you, our democracy champions, for your ongoing support. With your help, Free Speech For People has made incredible strides in 2020 to ensure that every American has an equal voice and an equal vote. From protecting and advocating for voting rights amid the COVID-19 pandemic to fighting the frequent abuses of power by Trump and his allies, your support has been instrumental in helping us achieve progress.

Free Speech For People will continue the fight for our democracy in 2021 and beyond. Will you join us?

In preparation for the most important election of our lifetime, Free Speech For People spent much of the last year focused on protecting and expanding voting rights, responding to both the coronavirus pandemic and President Trump’s reckless abuse of power. For example:

• Expanding voter registration: We filed a lawsuit to extend the voter registration deadline in Arizona, where voter registration efforts were hindered by the virus. We successfully extended the voter registration period by 10 days, resulting in 35,000 newly registered voters.
  
  
• Holding voting machine vendors accountable: We co-issued a letter in January to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission that detailed evidence showing that Election Systems and Software, the nation’s largest voting machine company, was deceptively marketing its voting machines with wireless modems as federally certified. In August, the EAC officially censured ES&S as a result.
  
  
• Combatting voter intimidation: We filed a federal lawsuit in October against Tennessee-based private mercenary contractor Atlas Aegis and its chairman for illegal voter intimidation in Minnesota, arguing that the defendants’ plan to hire and deploy armed ex-soldiers to polling sites in the state constituted illegal voter intimidation under the Voting Rights Act of 1965. One week later, the federal district court ruled in our favor, stopping Atlas Aegis in its tracks before Election Day.
  
  
• Making voting safe during the pandemic: Following the onset of COVID-19, we launched new litigation across the country to protect the health and safety of voters casting a ballot in person, and we published a safe-voting guide, with infectious disease expert and FSFP Board member Joia Mukherjee and former Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie.
  

To learn more about these and other 2020 accomplishments, please see our End of Year Report.

Donate to help us continue our fight to reclaim our democracy in 2021 and beyond.

We are at a turning point in our democracy. While the presidential election may be over, and the end of the Trump administration in sight, there is still much work to do. Over the past several years, the core principles of our democracy have been tested like never before. Free Speech For People will continue to defend our democracy, fight corruption in our government, and advance our legal challenges and constitutional amendments to get big money out elections and guarantee that every American has an equal vote.   

Thank you for your continued support in this fight. Together, we will reclaim our democracy for we, the people.

With gratitude,

Ben Clements

Board Chair, Free Speech For People