Protecting Voting Rights

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H.R. 1, The “For the People Act,” is the Overhaul to Corrupt Politics You’ve Been Waiting For

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The past several years have thrown into sharp relief just how broken the U.S. political system has become. Between a corrupt and kleptocratic administration with little regard for the rule of law, a legislative agenda dominated by lobbyist-driven efforts to further enrich the most wealthy and powerful donors and corporations in the country, a daily assault on our most essential institutions, and attacks on principles as fundamental to democracy as the right to vote, it is no wonder that public confidence in government is so low. Fortunately, there is hope. In November 2018, the American people went to the polls and resoundingly cast their ballot in support of candidates and officeholders committed to cleaning up corruption and holding government accountable. Now, an ambitious package of reforms introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives has the potential to do just that.

H.R. 1, also known as the For the People Act, is a series of sweeping ethics, campaign finance and voting rights reforms that get to the heart of corruption and, when implemented, will go a long way toward restoring public confidence in our federal government. The legislation addresses three key categories of reform by providing:

  • Comprehensive campaign finance reforms that would end “dark money” secret campaign donations and reduce the alarming influence of special interest and corporate money in our elections.
  • Desperately-needed governmental ethics reforms to slow the revolving door between public service and powerful business interests, and strengthening oversight and enforcement of ethics laws and rules.
  • Voting and electoral reforms that would end gerrymandering and reaffirm the principle of one person, one vote.

Each and every one of these proposals are significant remedies to what ails this nation and are endorsed by Public Citizen. While there is room for enhancing a few of the reforms offered by H.R. 1, overall the legislation is the kind of bold action to clean up corruption and restore democracy that the public has been yearning for.

Currently, the bill is being marked up in various House committees, which means it needs as much public awareness and support as possible to avoid being watered down by amendments that would weaken its provisions.

Luckily, there are ways you can help to advance this legislation to stamp out the influence of money in our elections, limit corporate lobbying, and expand voting rights. The Declaration for American Democracy, a coalition of more than 125 local, state and national organizations representing a diverse array of constituencies and issues working together to create a democracy where everyone’s voice is heard, counted and protected, is hosting H.R. 1-focused events happening around the nation, such as rallies and town halls with members of Congress. Find and RSVP to a rally or town hall near you by clicking here.

For too long, American federal government has been bent toward the will of the rich and powerful as democracy has eroded and the average American has had less and less say in the direction and governance of the country. It’s time to change that. Support H.R. 1 now, because everyday Americans deserve to have a vibrant democracy in which they can participate and be heard by ethical elected officials who have their constituents’, not their donors’, interests at heart.

Photo credit: Flickr user Stephen Melkisethian

(Democracy Spring March Arrives in DC 6)|CCBY 2.0

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H.R.1. Marks a New Era in Congress

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Newly in the majority, U.S. House Democrats have made their stance abundantly clear — fighting corruption and protecting democracy is priority number one. Their inaugural bill is far-reaching, tackling reforms aimed at our elections, the campaign finance system, as well as ethics and lobbying all in the same piece of legislation. H.R. 1, dubbed the “For the People Act,” is the most sweeping and comprehensive anti-corruption bill of the last 50 years. It is a legislative antidote to many of the problems associated with the disastrous U.S. Supreme Court Citizens United decision and increased attempts at voter suppression

Passing this bill in the House is an important and necessary first step to set the stage for its implementation in the future and for building the public demand for anti-corruption legislation as a whole. It is truly remarkable to see so many transformative policies in one bill, and to see the overwhelming support for that bill inside and outside of DC.

The bill would:

  • Restructure campaign finance by creating small-donor funding for our elections, instituting a public financing system where federal funds will match small donations at a rate of 6 to 1, and ending secret political contributions—“dark money”– by forcing disclosure of all major election-related funders such as 501(c)(4) organizations. It would also require tech companies to disclose large campaign advertisement purchases and block ad buys by foreign entities.
  • Expand and protect voting rights by enacting automatic voter registration, making Election Day a federal holiday, and ending certain felons’ voting disenfranchisement upon release. Provisions of H.R.1 would also bring an end to congressional district gerrymandering by instituting nonpartisan state-level redistricting commissions for House elections.
  • Restore ethics and transparency in government by requiring presidential candidates to release 10 years of tax returns, prohibiting House members from serving on corporate boards, creating a code of ethics for the U.S. Supreme Court, and expanding foreign and domestic lobbyist registration and reporting laws.

Strengthening our democracy and fighting corruption have long been priorities of Public Citizen and for that reason we are proud to endorse the “For the People Act.” But we need YOUR help to pass this bill!  H.R. 1 currently has the endorsement of 225 House members and the number is growing every day In order to win these democracy reforms in the long run, we need to make sure your U.S. Representative is on the list. Please call your member of Congress and ask her or him to support H.R. 1 now!

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“Young, Wild And Free”?

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“Young,Wild and Free” is a song about young people “just having fun,” but being free means much more than that to today’s youth. It is also about being free to have a voice in our democracy. But, I ask this:  if we young people don’t go out to vote during the midterm elections today, are we really free?

Freedom has never really been something to take for granted—at least not for my ancestors, who weren’t guaranteed the ability to access their right to vote until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (and still face complications to this day). I personally think it would be a slap in the face to those African Americans before me, who fought day in and day out for everyone to have a say in electing those who call the shots in our country, if I didn’t exercise my right to vote and cast a ballot in every single election.

One of the most important levers of power young people can access in our democracy is the freedom to vote and choose our elected officials. Voters across America will decide who will control the House, Senate and numerous statehouses. In fact, the data from early voting in various states show that the youth vote has surged for this election. I myself, as a young adult, Howard University student, and activist in the LGBTQ Community, understand what is at stake if I don’t utilize my right to vote, but I want to make sure that all young people feel the same way—that true freedom only comes with exercising the right to vote.

Yes, it may take time and energy to go to a polling station and cast a vote. Yes, it is easier to just post a revitalizing tweet or Instagram post to show your political opinions, but why stop there? We can spend our time merely talking about the threats our communities face on social media, or we can go to the polls where our voices cannot be silenced. Only through elections can we actually change laws and the people signing off on them. We can and have used social media to push important matters to the forefront of public debate but we also have to put our phones down for just a few minutes and physically cast a vote that will be heard by our entire nation, rather than a social media post seen by just our followers. With the evolution of technology, we young people cannot blame anyone but ourselves if we are not informed of what is going on in the political world. We should all have a vast understanding of who, and what we are voting for because all of that information is literally at our fingertips.

Tuesday’s midterm elections will shape the future of U.S. politics over the next two years, and have reverberations that last far longer. In total, 35 of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate and all 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives will be selected in these elections.

The results of these elections will have a profound influence on the ability for this administration to continue its corrupt and anti-democratic practices unchecked. At both the state and the federal level, voters have an opportunity to stand up for accountability, ethics, and democracy. We also have a chance to stand up for the vulnerable communities we care about. If you value any of these things, your choice is clear: it’s time to put down the smartphone and head to the ballot box to exercise your right to vote.

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Citizens Voting to Restore Voting Rights

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Some states have overly harsh laws that have collectively stripped more than six million Americans of their right to vote due to their criminal record. Approximately a quarter of those who can’t vote live in Florida. That may change this November, when Amendment 4 will appear on the state’s ballot.

If it secures more than 60% of the vote, Florida’s Amendment 4 would re-enfranchise felons who have completed their sentence, excluding those who were convicted of murder or felony sexual offenses. As the New York Times notes, this would “enfranchise more people at once than any single initiative since women’s suffrage.”

There is an inherent justice in allowing those who have served their time have a voice in how their country is run. Even beyond that, studies are showing that restoring voting rights has concrete benefits for the both the individual and society as a whole. Participation in democracy may help reduce the crime rate amongst those with a record. One political scientist cited by the Times who has studied the issue theorized that, “The results suggest that reversing disenfranchisement causes citizens to increase their pro-democratic attitudes and behaviors — all of which are predictors of reduced recidivism.”

Florida’s current system has functionally resulted in a lifetime voting ban for people who have committed relatively minor crimes, such as the theft of a stop sign. Luckily, if Amendment 4 passes, that unfair practice will be stopped.

Public Citizen’s Pedro Morillas recently spoke with Desmond Meade, the president of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, which was instrumental in bringing Amendment 4 to the ballot.


This video was part of a series that Pedro has been producing as part of the Declaration for American Democracy. To see more like it, follow the coalition’s page on Facebook.

Please share the video to help spread the word about how Amendment 4 in Florida will open up the voting booths to members of our society who have served their punishment and who now seek to be part of the solution.

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A Good Plan for a Better Deal

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On May 21, congressional Democrats unveiled a new plan entitled “A Better Deal for Our Democracy: Fixing Our Broken Political System and Returning to a Government Of, By and For the People.” With focuses on voting rights and access, campaign finance, and ending pay-to-play politics, this plan has the potential to begin cleaning up the corruption that is, unfortunately, deeply embedded in current American politics.

The plan is very much in line with reforms that we at Public Citizen and millions of other advocates for transparent, ethical government across America have been calling for decades, including amidst the flurry of ethical violations of the current administration. As Lisa Gilbert, vice president of legislative affairs at Public Citizen has said, “If this package passes, cronyism, corruption and far too much special interest money in our system will no longer be the norm.”

While many of the failings in our democracy predate the Trump administration, this president’s brazen disregard for government ethics has energized public interest in democracy reform. After almost a year and a half of the administration, the Democrats are seizing on this wave of energy by naming what we’ve seen so far as the “most corrupt administration in modern times.” And, it is true that corruption has seemed to be the name of the game in Washington recently. Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Mick Mulvaney, has openly admitted that his former congressional office operated on a pay-to-play policy. Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, was revealed to have ties to Fortune 500 companies, a Russian oligarch, and the Ukrainian government. It is becoming clearer all the time that many Trump administration insiders have secretive, unethical, and potentially illegal financial ties to corporate entities. That money has no place in politics, and Democrats are showing that they are ready to take aggressive steps to correct this.

The first step to purging corruption from Washington is to ensure that our leaders are chosen by the people, which is why voter reform is one of the key pillars of the Democrats’ new plan. This includes measures such as automatic voter registration and redistricting reform to end gerrymandering. The 2016 election yielded low voter turnout and low trust in the electoral system, not to mention the added concern of foreign meddling in American elections. Still, voting remains the foundation of the American democracy and the people’s voices need to be represented by selecting their elected leaders. The proposed voting reforms will help to strengthen this cornerstone of democracy and restore trust in the electoral system.

In addition to strengthening the process for putting people in office, the Democrats are proposing to tighten regulations on officials once they hold positions, both in the legislative and executive branches, and on both sides of the aisle. With regards to the executive branch, Democrats have honed in on Trump’s campaign promise to “drain the swamp” and his complete failure to do so when appointing members of his Cabinet, who exhibit unprecedented conflicts of interest. For both members of the cabinet and members of Congress, Democrats are proposing to tighten rules around lobbying and to make campaign finance more transparent. Clamping down on the ability of corporations to buy influence helps shift the government back into the hands of the people.

The plan also addresses the conflicts of interest that have resulted from revolving door issues, particularly under the Trump administration. Public Citizen found in March that more than 75 Trump administration lawyers had previously represented companies with business before the government or had previously worked in a field that they now oversee, creating a great deal of revolving door concerns. A proposal within the new plan would help combat this issue by prohibiting former lobbyists from taking on cabinet positions that would give them oversight of industries in which they were previously employed. This restriction would ensure that cabinet members are working for the good of the American people, not the good of those who put money in their pockets.

One concrete way in which the plan proposes to do this is by strengthening the Office of Government Ethics (OGE). As of now, the OGE has the ability to identify violations of ethics laws pertaining to conflicts of interest within the executive branch, but it does not have the ability to enforce compliance. Legislation under this new plan would give the agency that power of enforcement. With American citizens losing trust in individual elected and appointed officials, the strengthening of government oversight agencies is more important than ever. The new legislation will, as Public Citizen’s Craig Holman said, “put an ethics cop back on the beat” and therefore restore faith in an ethical government.

The issues of corruption and corporate money in politics date back to long before Trump took control of the White House. The Citizens United v. FEC case was decided in 2010, and the unsavory role of corporate influence on our democracy dates can be traced to long before that. Understanding how damaging that Supreme Court case has been, allowing untold amounts of secret money to flood our elections, it was especially heartening to see that the Democrat’s plan also included a call for an amendment to overturn Citizens United, something that Public Citizen’s Democracy Is For People campaign has been working hard to achieve for many years .

“The Better Deal for Our Democracy” plan gives us reasons to be optimistic that change might be coming in the near future, It is long past time for the country’s democracy to be rescued and for the American people to be able to place their trust in their government once again.

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