The Dog Days of Democracy
Dispatches on the For The People Act (Edition #27)
Welcome back to our Substack! This week we will keep it brief: An update about this Substack, the latest on the state of play as the Senate continues its recess, and information about upcoming events.
Substack Update:
To make our Substack even more useful, we will be adding a new “publication”. Now, in addition to our Dispatches on the For The People Act newsletter (which you are currently reading), you will also receive the latest Another Way podcast episodes in your inbox.
What does this look like? Every time we post a critically important episode — one that explains an aspect of the For The People Act or chronicles the fight to pass it (in more depth than we can cover here) — you’ll get an email, just like this one, with a link to the audio. And when you navigate to our Substack page, you will see tabs for both the newsletter and the podcast at the top. There, you can read previous Dispatches or listen to episodes of Another Way. If you prefer to listen to our podcast on Apple, Spotify, our website, etc, you can still do that, too.
Don’t worry, though. If this doesn’t sound like something you want, when we send out a new episode of Another Way, you will have the option to unsubscribe from the Another Way emails and just stay subscribed to our weekly Dispatches.
We’ve been putting a lot of effort into producing podcast episodes. We speak to the experts in the field to better understand the ins-and-outs of the policies within the For The People Act and the strategy to get it through the Senate. If you haven’t listened before, I really think that you will enjoy it.
Speaking of our podcast, this week we posted the recording of our recent event, “Fixing The Filibuster To Save Democracy”. In it, Lawrence Lessig talks to Cliff Albright, co-founder of Black Voters Matter, and Eli Zupnick, spokesperson for the Fix Our Senate coalition. Jana Morgan, the Executive Director of the DFAD coalition, also makes a special guest appearance. Listen to it here.
Where We Are Now:
The House is moving forward with the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (H.R. 4), which would repair and strengthen the Voting Rights Act. H.R. 4 is a critical companion to (not a substitute for) the For The People Act and our democracy desperately needs both to become law.
The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on H.R. 4 this past week and the Committee could vote on whether to advance it as early as next week. We fully expect the committee will vote in favor of H.R. 4 and the bill will reach the House floor shortly after that.
Just like with the For The People Act, we will need to reform the filibuster to get the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act through the Senate. We are thrilled that the House is stepping up for our democracy by passing critical fair elections bills. It’s time the Senate does the same. It’s simple: fix the filibuster, then fix our democracy.
We will have more updates for you on H.R. 4 next week, but if you are eager to learn more, check out these pieces in Vox or The New York Times.
You might be wondering: What’s happening in the Senate? Well, not much. The Senate is currently on vacation (sigh). But that doesn’t mean that the pressure to protect our democracy has died down. In fact, the movement to pass the For The People Act continues to get stronger. And now, more than ever, it is imperative that Americans raise their voices to demand that the Senate act to protect and strengthen our democracy.
There are a number of ways to take action during the Senate recess, including at events that are in-person and virtual. I am going to take a moment to highlight several high-profile events coming up, and as always, we include other actions you can take in our ‘More Ways to Help’ section below. If you are unsure how to get involved, please reach out to us and we can help.
Upcoming Events:
On Tuesday, August 24th at noon ET, the League of Women Voters, People For the American Way, and leading civil rights organizations are hosting a ‘No More Excuses: Voting Rights Now!’ rally in Washington D.C. Check out more information here.
On Saturday, August 28th, there will be a March on for Voting Rights in Washington D.C. and other cities across the country. These rallies will build pressure for the For The People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. Please try to attend one near you. Check out a press hit on these Marches here.
Also on Saturday, August 28th, Black Voters Matter and partners will be hosting a ‘Make Good Trouble’ rally at the Lincoln Memorial. For more information, check out their website here.
Please spread the word about these incredible events and attend them if you can!
More events are popping up all the time, so don’t forget to subscribe to hear about exciting future events.
In the News:
The Washington Post’s Clyde McGrady writes about how Black West Virginians feel invisible. Delving into the states’ political past and present, McGrady chronicles the frustration many Black voters feel towards Manchin and his hesitancy to do whatever necessary to protect voting rights.
Austin Sarat, a political science professor at Amherst College, penned a piece in The Hill arguing that moderation is not a virtuous trait when it comes to voting rights. Calling out Sens. Manchin and Sinema, Sarat explains, “They elevate a fantasy of bipartisanship over the need for national action to protect the rights of voters to participate in free, fair and honest elections.”
Washington Post Columnist Jonathan Capehart argues that it is time for President Biden to call for the elimination of the filibuster to protect the right to vote. According to Capehart, the President needs to take a more active role to persuade hesitant Senate Democrats to fix the filibuster.
Our recent polling shows that the American people want the President to do this as well, check it out here.
Essence Journalist Donna Owens writes about ‘Fighting for Our Vote,’ a new campaign led by the NAACP, ACLU, AFL-CIO and others. Through mass mobilization and other efforts, the coalition behind the campaign is hoping to add even more energy to the fight to protect the right to vote.
Bonus Article: Native American Voting Rights Act Introduced In Congress As Native Voter Suppression Rises
Don’t forget to keep your friends, family, and colleagues in the loop by sharing this Substack with them.
Social Media Roundup:
Let’s be frank: there are A LOT of tweets, posts, and general conversation about the For The People Act. In this section, we give you an overview of the tweets and media you really need to see.
More Ways to Help!
We are entering possibly one of the most critical moments for American democracy since the Voting Rights Act of 1965. We need all the help we can get to push the For The People Act over the finish line! Here are more ways to join the fight to protect American democracy:
Call your senators and tell them that you support reforming the filibuster to pass H.R. 1. You can find your senators’ phone numbers, as well as where they stand on the filibuster, using our handy filibuster tracker!
Common Cause, Center for Common Ground, RepresentUs, and End Citizens United are organizing regular phone banks in support of the For the People Act. This is a great opportunity to spread the word about H.R. 1 and help constituents contact their Senators in support of the bill. Check them out here, here, here, and here.
Stacey Abrams’ Fair Fight Action is hosting Hot Call Summer. Plug into their actions here.
Common Cause also hosts regular text banks on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Sign up to join them here.
Write a letter to the editor in your local paper sharing your support of H.R. 1 and urging your Senators to pass it. Not sure how to write a letter to the editor? Reach out to us at info@equalcitizens.us and we can help!
Share our newsletter, our podcast, the articles included above, and the resources on H.R. 1 below on social media and tell your friends why you support #ForThePeopleAct
Extra, Extra:
If, after reading our newsletter, you still want to know more about the For The People Act or Equal Citizens you can find more information here! If you have questions about H.R. 1 you want us to answer in our Substack, tweet at us with #HR1Substack! Also, don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for more updates throughout the week.
Relevant Resources:
Here are a few resources on the “For the People Act” if you have questions:
Equal Citizens launched a filibuster tracker, so you can see where your senator stands on the filibuster. It also includes their phone numbers and their Twitter handles, so you can get in touch with them directly and push them to support filibuster reform!
The Brennan Center for Justice created a wonderful guide to H.R. 1. Check it out here. They also created an in-depth report about racism and disenfranchisement due to incarceration.
Recently, Equal Citizens launched a polling new webpage: H.R. 1 is Popular. This page chronicles the strong public support for the For The People Act. It also explores the polling on individual provisions of the bill and opinions about reforming the filibuster. Check it out here.
The Brennan Center also published a report on why H.R. 1 brings us closer to an inclusive democracy. Check it out here.
Here is the link to the House website on the For the People Act.
Flood social media with these awesome graphics about the For the People Act!
There is a lot of misinformation about H.R. 1, and the amount of misinformation will only grow as the fight heats up. That’s why it’s more important than ever to make sure everyone has all the facts on the bill - here is an article from Media Matters that can help you fact check. Additionally, the Brennan Center published a piece to help you decipher fact from fiction. Check it out here.
More About Me:
Kevin Rissmiller is a fellow at Equal Citizens and a Goodwin-Niering Scholar at Connecticut College majoring in Government and exploring sociology, economics, and applied statistics. In his free time, you will find him at Dunkins or (pre-pandemic) playing ultimate frisbee. Connect with him on LinkedIn.
If you want more updates on H.R. 1 from Kevin, then subscribe here!