The Time is Now

Most of us believe that no matter what we look like or where we live, we should be able to provide for our families and get the care we need. People across our country are now struggling to make ends meet or watching our loved ones suffer while people caring for us do without protective equipment and adequate hospital beds. Despite the pandemic, the economic crisis, and deliberate barriers set to keep Black, young and new Americans from voting, we chose new leaders to deliver relief for working families and small businesses, ensure we can get and stay well, and govern for us all. And now we expect our lawmakers to do their duty and put in place real solutions — to not merely tackle the crises the last government created — but to make this a place where all of us can thrive.

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We need bold democracy reforms like the For the People Act - HR1 (in addition to the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act - H.R. 4 and Washington, DC Admissions Act - H.R. 51). To advance bold change in our democracy, we need bold solutions. The For the People Act (H.R. 1) is the most robust democracy reform bill since the Watergate era. It will get big money out of politics, make voting simpler, safer, and fairer, and allow us to hold our elected officials accountable.

Sign on to the Declaration of Florida for a Rising Democracy:

https://actionnetwork.org/forms/declaration-of-florida-for-a-rising-democracy/

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Call your Senator and ask them to support HR1 and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act:

 United States Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121

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Talking Points:

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The For the People Act (H.R. 1):

• counters the Citizens United decision

• establishes a voluntary small donor public financing system for House races

• enacts the DISCLOSE Act

• reveals who's funding dark money groups

• strengthens the prohibition on campaign spending by foreign nationals

• enacts the Honest Ads Act

• reveals who's buying online political ads

• enacts the Stand By Every Ad Act

• requires political ad buyers to reveal their top donors and chief officials

• mandates greater transparency from tax-exempt organizations

• requires publicly traded companies to consult with shareholders before spending on politics

• leads to disclosure of contributions by government contractors

• holds presidential inaugural committees accountable

• pilots a voucher program, so voters can contribute to candidates of their choice

• establishes a small donor matching system for Congressional elections

• reforms the presidential public financing program

• empowers more people to run by allowing federal candidates who are not incumbents to use part of their campaign funds for childcare and certain other expenses

• encourages small dollar donations to political party committees

• overhauls the FEC

• cracks down on Super PAC-Candidate coordination

• requires disposal of unused campaign funds

• commits to restore and update the full protections of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA) — the most effective civil rights legislation in the history of the United States

• commits to protect and promote Native American voting rights

• ensures access to voting for individuals with disabilities

• supports DC statehood

• supports federal voting rights for Americans living in US territories

• enacts the Redistricting Reform Act of 2019

• bans partisan and racial gerrymandering

• adopts independent redistricting commissions

• combats cyberattacks, election hacking, and disinformation campaigns

• promotes online voter registration in federal elections nationwide

• requires automatic voter registration for federal elections nationwide

• allows same day registration for federal elections nationwide

• prevents voter roll purges

• makes registration deadlines line up with public holidays

• requires USPS to remind movers to update their voter registration

• creates grants to boost youth involvement in election activities

• provide additional state funding to update registration processes

• prohibits interference with voter registration

• standardizes voter registrations across states

• expands pre-registration for future voters currently 16 or older

• prohibits voter caging

• enacts the Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act

• restores federal voting rights to those disenfranchised by a prior criminal conviction

• adopt paper ballots

• strengthen provisional balloting

• create a nationwide standard for early voting

• expand opportunities to vote by mail

• protect voting rights for absent military and overseas voters

• provides grants for more poll workers

• enhances enforcement of existing standards

• prevents conflicts of interest with chief state election officials

• allows public universities to become voter registration agencies

• lets students vote where they attend school

• requires a weeks' notice to change polling places

• allows a sworn statement option for voter ID requirements

• makes absentee ballots postage-free

• helps states process absentee ballots

• strengthens voter information support

• standardizes polling place hours of operation

• improves the Election Assistance Commission

• funds election security upgrades

• increases communication about threats to state election systems

• requires sitting presidents, vice presidents, and major-party candidates for those offices to disclose their tax returns

• requires a code of ethics for the United States Supreme Court

• updates and enforces the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA)

• increases federal lobbying disclosure requirements

• requires presidential appointees to recuse themselves from government matters to which the president or their spouse is a party

• ensures easy public access to lobbying information

• requires the president and vice president to divest from any personal financial holdings that could pose a conflict of interest with their official duties

• demands transparency for White House ethics waivers

• strengthen ethics enforcement in the executive branch

• requires more disclosure of political donations and fundraising by cabinet members and other senior appointees

• makes presidents-elect adopt and enforce ethics rules for their transition teams

• requires all senior executive branch appointees to take an ethics pledge

• restricts travel on private aircraft by cabinet members and other senior appointees

• makes Members of Congress pay any awards or settlements in connection to claims of workplace harassment

• prohibits House members from serving on the boards of for-profit companies

• bars Members of Congress and staff from trying to make laws to make themselves rich

• requires candidates to disclose if they get donations from registered lobbyists

• creates a searchable, public online portal for all reports to Congress

• requires reporting of outside compensation for congressional staff

Sources cited: https://dfadcoalition.org/

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