It starts with passing the For the People Act. īut here is the good news: we know what we need to do to address these problems and strengthen American democracy. For more information on how the For the People Act would counteract this recent wave of vote suppressive bills, see Gareth Fowler, Wendy Weiser, Will Wilder, Izabela Tringali, and Stuart Baum, “Congress Could Change Everything,” Brennan Center for Justice, March 16, 2021. footnote1_ch6a2pz 1 Brennan Center for Justice, Voting Laws Roundup: March 2021, April 1, 2021, Brennan Center for Justice, “State Voting Bills Tracker 2021,” February 24, 2021, and Kevin Morris, “Georgia’s Proposed Voting Restrictions Will Harm Black Voters Most,” Brennan Center for Justice, March 6, 2021. In Georgia, for instance, a recent Brennan Center analysis found that proposed bills to cut Sunday early voting and mail-voting access would burden Black voters most. These measures target and will disproportionately harm voters of color, young voters, and voters with disabilities. To date, more than 360 bills to restrict voting access have been proposed in 47 states. #Pocket tanks wifi lobby problem registrationEven though our democratic institutions survived an attempt to overturn the result of the 2020 election, unscrupulous state legislators have seized on the disinformation that fueled this attempt to introduce an alarming number of regressive bills aimed at restricting access to the ballot, including by sharply restricting access to mail ballots, cutting back on early voting, and slashing voter registration opportunities. The current assault on voting rights across the country underscores the urgency of reform. The virulent coronavirus, whose worst effects in terms of both health and the economy have fallen disproportionately on communities of color, underscores the urgent need for a functioning democracy that serves all the people. And the guardrails against discrimination, corruption, and manipulation of the system for personal gain have all been cast aside or eroded. Wealthy campaign donors maintain outsized sway over policy. For decades, citizens’ voices have been silenced through voter suppression, gerrymandering, and deceptive tactics. These problems were more extreme this cycle, but they are certainly not new. And despite increased engagement by small campaign donors last year, the most expensive campaigns in American history were still largely bankrolled by a small coterie of individual megadonors and entrenched interests, many of whom were able to keep their identities secret from voters. Extreme partisan gerrymandering continued to distort far too many races for the House - a plot that is poised to be repeated in the upcoming redistricting cycle unless Congress steps in to prevent it. But there were also unprecedented efforts to thwart the electoral process and disenfranchise voters, primarily in Black and brown communities, based on lies about “voter fraud.” Those efforts continue through restrictive voting bills in states across the country. The 2020 election, like the 2018 midterms, featured historic levels of voter turnout - the highest in over a century, even in the face of a deadly pandemic. If enacted, it would be the most significant voting rights and democracy reform in more than half a century. It is based on the key insight that the best way to defend democracy is to strengthen democracy. This historic legislation responds to twin crises facing our country: the ongoing attack on democracy - reflected in the assault on the Capitol on January 6 and the subsequent flood of vote suppression bills across the country - and the urgent demand for racial justice. 1 in the Senate - was designated as the first bill, a top priority this session. In both houses of Congress, the For the People Act - H.R. We now have a historic opportunity to bring about transformative change. Advance Constitutional Change Show / hideĪmerican democracy urgently needs repair.National Task Force on Democracy Reform & the Rule of Law.Government Targeting of Minority Communities Show / hide.Campaign Finance in the Courts Show / hide.Gerrymandering & Fair Representation Show / hide.Ensure Every American Can Vote Show / hide.
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