Press Releases Archive

Campaign Legal Center, Democracy 21, Common Cause, & CREW File Amicus Brief Supporting The FEC’s Efforts To Prevent Corruption In Ted Cruz Loan Repayment Case

| |by

When candidates raise funds after an election to repay personal loans to their own campaigns, the risk of corruption is self-evident and voters lose out on essential knowledge until it is too late.  The Campaign Legal Center (CLC), joined by Democracy 21, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), and Common Cause, filed an amicus […]

Read more

Analysis: Why The Filibuster Rules Must Be Revised In Order To Protect Voting Rights And Save The Senate

|, |    by

  By: Fred Wertheimer, President, Democracy 21 The filibuster is again at the center of an ongoing battle in the Senate over civil rights. Since June, four filibusters have blocked pending voting rights legislation that would protect millions of eligible Americans from losing their ability to vote in federal elections. The right to vote is […]

Read more

Senate Republicans Block Consideration Of John Lewis Voting Rights Measure – Marking Fourth Time This Year They’ve Prevented Senate Consideration Of Vital Voting Rights Legislation

| |  by

Statement of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer For the fourth time this year, Senate Republicans have blocked essential voting rights legislation. Today, their obstructionism blocked consideration of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. They previously blocked consideration of the For the People Act in June and again in August, and then, in October, they […]

Read more

Recent FEC Ruling That Foreign Interests Can Finance Referendum Campaigns In U.S. Would Be Overturned By Freedom To Vote Act Pending In Senate

| |  by

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) recently ruled that foreign governments, foreign corporations, and other foreign interests can finance referendum campaigns in the United States. This interpretation of the existing foreign ban on influencing elections in the country has opened the door to unlimited foreign spending to influence high-profile policy issues on ballot initiatives, which often may be […]

Read more

D21 President Fred Wertheimer On Sen. Romney’s Disingenuous Case For Protecting The Filibuster Rules

| |    by

Statement Of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer   Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) has an op-ed in The Washington Post today in which he makes a disingenuous case for protecting the filibuster rules. He makes his case based on creating an incorrect impression that Senate Democrats are seeking to fully repeal the Senate filibuster in order to pass voting rights […]

Read more

Wertheimer/Eisen Op-Ed: “Two Senators Could Save U.S. Democracy”

|, |    by

“We hope Senators Manchin and Sinema choose to be on the right side of history. Failing to do so could be fatal to the future of the American experiment.” “Today we face a full-blown national crisis for our democracy – with the voting rights of millions of Americans about to be sacrificed solely for partisan […]

Read more

The Freedom To Vote Act Now Moves To The Next Stage After Senate Republicans Blocked Even Debating This Essential Legislation

| |      by

Statement Of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer Today, Senate Republicans used a filibuster to block consideration of Senator Joe Manchin’s (D-WV) compromise voting rights bill, the Freedom to Vote Act. This battle, however, is by no means over. The Act would protect the sacred right to vote for all eligible Americans by overriding the wave […]

Read more

Democracy 21 Urges Senate To Pass The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act

| |    by

“Protecting the sacred right to vote for all eligible Americans should be a goal for all Members of Congress.”  Statement of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, introduced in the Senate on Tuesday, is a vitally important step forward in the work to protect the sacred right to vote […]

Read more

Democracy 21 Urges Support For The Protecting Our Democracy Act

| |  by

Statement of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer The serial abuses of power by former President Trump continue to cast a pall over our democracy. We cannot ignore how much damage Trump did to our constitutional system of government and we must ensure that it never happens again. The Protecting Our Democracy Act, introduced today by Representative […]

Read more

The Washington Post: “If Republicans Can’t Get Behind An Issue As Fundamental As Voting, Democrats Must Push Through Their Bill”

| |    by

The Freedom to Vote Act, the revised voting rights and anti-corruption legislation introduced in the Senate last week, “is an outstretched hand to Republicans — indeed, to anyone who claims to care about democracy,” The Washington Post editorial board wrote on Sunday. “But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) immediately trashed it. Not a single […]

Read more