News

H.R. 1 vs. GOP State Voter Suppression Efforts

FRED WERTHEIMER’S WEEKLY NOTE | March 12, 2021 “Senate Republicans will pull out all the stops to block H.R. 1 and enable GOP state voter suppression and disenfranchisement efforts to succeed.” Republican state legislators in Georgia are the leading edge of efforts across the country to enact new state laws aimed directly at the suppression […]

NY Times editorial: For Democracy to Stay, the Filibuster Must Go

Enclosed for your information is a New York Times editorial entitled “For Democracy to Stay, the Filibuster Must Go,” which was published here on March 11, 2021. According to the editorial: The point of H.R. 1 is not to help Democrats. It is to rebuild and reinforce the crumbling foundations of American self-government and abolish […]

Rep. Sarbanes & D21 File Brief Urging SCOTUS to Follow Precedent Upholding Disclosure

Rep. Sarbanes & Democracy 21 File Brief Urging Supreme Court to Follow Precedent on Upholding Disclosure Rep. John Sarbanes (D-MD) and Democracy 21 last week filed a brief with the Supreme Court as amicus curiae in the case Americans for Prosperity v. Becerra.  The case raises issues about the scope of a state law donor […]

Democracy 21 Applauds President Biden’s Efforts to Protect Voting Rights on the 56th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday

Democracy 21 Applauds President Biden’s Efforts to Protect Voting Rights on the 56th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday Statement of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer 56 years ago today, undeterred by the violent forces opposing their progress, John Lewis led thousands of Americans across the Edmund Pettis Bridge in Selma, Alabama, demanding the right to vote. […]

House Passes Historic Democracy Reform

FRED WERTHEIMER’S WEEKLY NOTE | March 4, 2021 “The bottom-line choice is clear: either the Senate votes to meet the urgent need of the American people to repair our democracy and protect the sacred right to vote, or the Senate maintains without exception the filibuster that has been serially abused for years by Senator Mitch […]

D21 Applauds House Passage of H.R. 1, Urges Senate Action Soon

Democracy 21 Applauds House Members Whose Votes Passed H.R. 1, Urges Senate Action Soon Statement of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer The House passed historic democracy reform legislation on Wednesday to repair our broken political system and fix our corrupting campaign finance system. Unlike 2019 when the House first passed H.R. 1 and Senate Majority […]

H.R. 1: Myths and Realities, Part 2

H.R. 1: Myths and Realities, Part 2 A Democracy 21 Response to Incorrect Claims Made About H.R. 1, the For the People Act of 2021 H.R. 1, the For the People Act of 2021, is sweeping democracy reform legislation that is being considered by the House of Representatives this week. Last week, Democracy 21 issued […]

It’s too difficult for ‘ordinary’ people to run for office. H.R. 1 can change that – D21 VP Matt Keller op-ed

Enclosed for your information is a piece by Democracy 21 Vice President Matt Keller entitled “It’s too difficult for ‘ordinary’ people to run for office. The For the People Act can change that,” which was published here in America Magazine, The Jesuit Review on March 1, 2021. According to the piece: With Mr. Biden’s leadership […]

Democracy 21 Urges House Support for H.R. 1, the For the People Act

Democracy 21 Urges House Support for H.R. 1, the For the People Act, and Opposition to Any Weakening Amendments In a letter sent today to House sponsors of H.R. 1, the For the People Act, Democracy 21 expressed its appreciation for their support. The letter urged Representatives to oppose any amendments to weaken H.R. 1 […]

In Statehouses, Stolen-Election Myth Fuels a G.O.P. Drive to Rewrite Rules – NY Times

Enclosed for your information is an article entitled “In Statehouses, Stolen-Election Myth Fuels a G.O.P. Drive to Rewrite Rules,” which was published here by The New York Times on February 27, 2021. According to the article: Led by loyalists who embrace former President Donald J. Trump’s baseless claims of a stolen election, Republicans in state […]