Why Should You Care?
The United States was founded on the core principle that every man has the right to vote for their elected leaders and have their political opinions represented in the laws that govern their communities.
And the ratification of the 15th, 19th, and 26th amendments extended this constitutional right to all men and women over the age of 18, regardless of their race or gender.
However, constitutional protections have done little to stop the passage of broad legislation designed to impede this right and disenfranchise underrepresented categories — like women, the LGBTQ+ community, black and brown persons, students, the elderly, and the disabled.
Under a false narrative of widespread voter fraud, bills like Arizona’s H.B. 2494, complicate voter registration, cut early voting windows, impose strict voter ID laws, and routinely allow for massive, and often illegitimate, voter registration purges.
Research from the Brennan Center For Justice shows that a single purge can remove upwards of 100,000 voters. Often, when a person is inaccurately removed from the state voter database, they only learn of their lack of registration on Election day when nothing can be done to correct it.
But the passage of anti-voter bills is not the only way that these communities have their votes continually suppressed. The United States also has a long history of Racial Gerrymandering —a process that redraws district maps to favor voters in white communities over voters of color. We can see this practice already in states such as Alabama, Georgia, Maryland, Texas, etc.
And the upcoming Moore V. Harper Supreme Court decision threatens to take this gerrymandering one step further. This proposal argues that state legislators have the exclusive power to regulate federal elections and draw district maps how they please without concern for population density. Without any form of oversight, millions of voters are at risk of having their votes suppressed and losing their right to fair federal representation.
Our elections are also dominated by a massive amount of dark money spent by political organizations and nonprofits. They routinely avoid broad federal oversight and contribute unlimited funds to damaging policy implementation around the country. You can read more about the use of political dark money here.
Our Stance
We believe all Americans deserve the right to voice their opinions in free and fair elections. Voting should be easier for underrepresented voters instead of unnecessarily complicated by roadblocks like voter ID laws and opt-in voter registration.
We acknowledge that a long history of racial gerrymandering has taken power away from BIPOC communities and placed it in the hands of state legislators. We fight to return this power with a fair census and federal oversight on redistricting.
Until every person has the right to vote restored, the time and ability to do so, and the power to have their voice heard, our democracy will continue to work only for the rich and powerful and not for the average American.
What Can We Do?
- Restore the Voting Rights Act
- Make voting easier with automatic voter registration, nationwide mail-in voting, and expanded early voting windows
- Return the right to vote to incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people.
- Abolish the electoral college
- End corporate lobbying in politics
- Ensure a fair redistricting through federal oversight
- Abolish the Fillibuster
- Expand the supreme court
- Ban voter ID laws