News

Reforming The Electoral Count Act Does Not Address The Democracy Crisis Facing Our Nation

FRED WERTHEIMER’S WEEKLY NOTE  |  February 3, 2022 Following the defeat last month of the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act, essential voting rights legislation, by a vote of 52-to-48, a small bipartisan group of Senators turned their focus to repairing the Electoral Count Act of 1877 (ECA). This effort to develop ECA reforms […]

Leadership Conference On Civil And Human Rights And 53 Other Groups, Including Democracy 21, Urge Congress To Remain Focused On The Fight For Voting Rights

Reforms to the Electoral Count Act (ECA) are “needed and welcome, but they simply are not adequate to meet the current moment.” As Congress considers the next steps in the fight to move voting rights forward, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition of more than 230 national organizations, and 53 individual […]

The Destructive Impact Of Voter Suppression

FRED WERTHEIMER’S WEEKLY NOTE  |  JANUARY 27, 2022 If anyone had any doubt about the destructive impact that last week’s defeat in the Senate of the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act will have on our nation, look no further than this example from Texas. Kenneth Thompson, a 95-year-old World War II veteran, who […]

“The Fight Goes On.”

FRED WERTHEIMER’S WEEKLY NOTE  |  JANUARY 20, 2022 American democracy suffered a major defeat last night. Last night, 52 Senators voted down a filibuster rules change that would have allowed the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act to pass the Senate by majority vote. Those Senators – 50 Republicans and two Democrats – joined […]

Statement of D21 On The Senate Voting Down A Filibuster Rules Change That Would Have Allowed Voting Rights To Pass By Majority Vote

  “The Fight Goes On.”  Statement of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer American democracy suffered a major defeat last night. Last night, 52 Senators voted down a filibuster rules change that would have allowed the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act to pass the Senate by majority vote. Those Senators – 50 Republicans and […]

Wertheimer Op-Ed On “NBC News Think”: Trump And The GOP’s Biggest Voting Rights Lies — And Why They’re Wrong

As the voting rights debate begins “the decision Senators make will determine whether our democracy and the right to vote will be preserved — or whether Trump’s Big Lie will continue to contaminate the country,” D21 President Fred Wertheimer writes on NBC Think. Debate on the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis voting rights legislation is […]

National Pro-Democracy Coalition Calls On Senate Democrats To Hold The Floor Until The Freedom To Vote: John R. Lewis Act Is Passed

On Tuesday night, as the Senate continued debate on the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act, a coalition of 63 organizations and partners, including Democracy 21, issued statements regarding the urgency and importance of passing the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act and continuing debate until the legislation is passed. Statement of Democracy […]

Sports Legends Endorse Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act

  “[W]e are united now in urging Congress to exercise its Constitutional responsibility to enact laws that set national standards for the conduct of Federal elections and for decisions that determine election outcomes,” Jerry West, Nick Saban, Paul Tagliabue And Others Write In Letter To Sen. Manchin   In a letter to Senator Joe Manchin […]

D21 Urges Senate To Engage In Extended Debate On Voting Rights

  In a letter today, Democracy 21 urged the 50 Senators who support the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act to “do whatever it takes” to pass the legislation. When Senate proponents “fought for the historic Civil Rights Act of 1964, they recognized the bill was of overriding importance to the country,” according to […]

Decision Time On Voting Rights Has Arrived

WERTHEIMER’S WEEKLY NOTE  |  JANUARY 13, 2022 Last night, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced a strategy to use a little known procedure that will bring voting rights legislation to the Senate floor for debate – bypassing a filibuster. The voting rights legislation, consolidated into a single bill, the Freedom to Vote: John R. […]