The upcoming elections could be some of the most contentious ever, which is why the time to act is now.

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From the Desk of Trevor Potter
Dear John,

By now, we have all seen or read about the recent hearings held by the U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. It’s expected that the committee will continue holding hearings through the end of this month (including one scheduled for Tuesday), since the committee continues to unearth more information. Its work isn’t done.

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I suspect you’ve found them, as I have, to be eye-opening. These hearings have been well-organized; the committee has conducted over 1,000 interviews and has put in the time and effort to get this right.
I think this effort has shown, and we are better off as a nation for the committee’s work.

If you haven’t had the opportunity to watch yet, you may find video recordings of the hearings on the select committee’s website. ([link removed]) CLC also published an overview of the committee’s first, prime-time hearing ([link removed]) on our website, and The New York Times is a good source ([link removed]) for comprehensive coverage and analysis of the hearings.

Having watched them, I can feel it to my core — we’re living through an important moment in American history, and our actions as a nation today will set the course for our collective self-government for the coming years, impacting almost every issue we care about.

Former appellate judge J. Michael Luttig, a conservative jurist who appeared before the January 6th committee last month after having advised former Vice President Mike Pence about his role in counting Electoral College votes, summed up this sentiment well. Along with my own testimony to the committee, ([link removed]) Luttig submitted written remarks, too. Here’s a link to Luttig’s written testimony, which is well worth reading in its entirety. ([link removed]) In it, he writes, “America is at a perilous crossroads. Who is it that we have become and what is it that America has become? Is this who we want to be and what we want America to be? And if not, just who is it that we Americans want to be? And just what is it that we want our America to be?”

No matter our color, background or party, most of us believe that January 6th was an attack against our country and our freedom. It was made possible by partisan actors who sowed doubt in the trustworthiness of elections for their own gain, and we deserve better for the future. (Fortunately, our elections are run by principled Americans — including poll workers and local election officials — who are dedicated to ensuring that every vote is properly counted. Our election system is worthy of our trust and confidence, and it showed in 2020 that it can withstand a lot thrown at it.)

During this historic moment, this “crossroads” as Luttig writes, we must support a political system that is democratic, inclusive and responsive to the people.

At this “crossroads,” we’re making progress toward that goal right now. For example, states are passing new protections for our freedom to vote, even when Congress isn’t. Just a couple weeks ago, coinciding with Juneteenth, the state of New York signed a state-level Voting Rights Act into law, ([link removed]) the most comprehensive such law in the country. As the federal Voting Rights Act has been chipped away by the U.S. Supreme Court, states are passing state-level Voting Rights Acts to fill in the gaps. CLC has been a key champion of this effort. You and I should continue to encourage our state legislators, of all parties, to support such laws in our home states, and CLC and our partners will continue to file lawsuits when states don’t support voters.

And at the federal level, we are seeing encouraging movement toward an update of the Electoral Count Act of 1887 (ECA), which CLC has been championing and working behind the scenes with key congressional staff. A bipartisan group of senators is working through ECA discussions, and reports have indicated that they are moving closer to consensus. ([link removed]) Currently, a loophole in the ECA — which hasn’t been updated in more than 130 years — could allow partisan actors to try to throw out a state’s certified presidential election results. Partisan actors exploited ambiguities in the ECA that, in part, led to the January 6th attack on our country. The ECA must be updated now to protect the will of the people, and we hope to see a bill on the floors of Congress this year.

With the upcoming midterms and the next presidential election likely to be among the most contentious elections ever in American history, the time to act is now. At this “crossroads” moment, let’s push forward and get this work done.

Let’s be able to look back on this summer and say that the January 6th hearings galvanized support for democracy and for a better, more free and more just future. We can and must protect the voices of the American people so voters — not partisan actors — decide our elections.
Sincerely,

Trevor Potter
President, Campaign Legal Center
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