John,
Yesterday we made a huge step forward towards making our democracy work for every one of us.
We now have a new bill, the Freedom To Vote Act -- which contains many of the bold policies in the For the People Act -- that will expand our right to vote, stop partisan and racial gerrymandering, help get big money out of politics, and make government accountable to the people it serves.
AND… it has strong support from Democratic senators -- it was introduced by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Sen. Raphael Warnock, Sen. Alex Padilla, and Sen. Joe Manchin among others [1], who Common Cause activists have placed tens of thousands of calls to this summer.
We’re closer than ever before to getting transformational pro-democracy legislation to President Biden’s desk -- can you write to your senators today?
Right now, we’re seeing exactly why it’s so important that we get serious about defending our democracy. 400+ voter suppression bills in state legislatures. Dangerously gerrymandered legislative districts. Millions of dollars in secret political spending to influence our votes.
The Freedom to Vote Act, much like the For the People Act, would solve these problems and more -- and it’s now closer than ever before to becoming law. This revised bill is an extremely positive sign -- it proves the Senate is working to find a path forward to get this landmark bill signed into law.
Thousands of Common Cause activists like you have been working night and day to advance the Freedom of Vote Act. Together, we’ve organized local actions and spent thousands of hours calling and texting voters in key Senate states to ask them to make calls to their senators.
Passing the Freedom to Vote Act will strengthen our voting rights 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. It will end gerrymandering along partisan or racial lines by requiring fair maps for congressional districts. And, it will take important steps to curtail secret money in elections and encourage small-dollar donors to reduce the influence of big money.
We must act immediately -- and every voter should contact both of their US Senators now to say, “Get the job done and protect the freedom to vote for the people.” Can you take action?
John, I know our work together this year to defend and strengthen our democracy has been drawn out and difficult. That’s why I’m so excited about this new bill -- it represents our best chance to address the multiple threats our democracy faces today.
Our team has been burning the midnight oil, and you, the Common Cause members who make our work possible, have been nothing but extraordinary. You’ve joined thousands of phonebanks, and made millions of calls and sent millions of texts to voters to contact their Senators.
In the coming weeks, I’ll be asking you to continue taking action -- because failure is simply not an option. We’re all going to need to do our part to leave a better democracy for the next generation, and I’m so glad to know that I can count on you.
Thanks for all you do,
Karen Hobert Flynn, President
and the team at Common Cause
P.S. It’s the organized, concerted action of Common Cause members like you who make our work possible. If you’re interested in making an even bigger impact for our democracy in these critical next few weeks, I hope you’ll sign up to join our volunteer Action Team today >>
[1] https://www.klobuchar.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/e/4/e448657f-914b-43a3-9153-05cabfb31c76/68440D88BF5EF1F90133FCB5AD2865D9.freedom-to-vote-act-text.pdf
