The State of Play
Dispatches on the For The People Act (Edition #21)
It’s the six month anniversary of this Substack dedicated to the For The People Act. For those of you who have been here since the beginning, so glad to have your continued readership. And for those who are new, welcome, and don’t forget to subscribe!
This week, I would like to take a moment to reflect on how far we’ve come in these last 6 months and where we are now headed in the fight for the For The People Act.
Where We Have Been:
My former Substack co-author Kate and I began writing to you about the For The People Act shortly after the unprecedented insurrection attempt at our nation’s capitol on January 6th. We spent most of the first few months detailing the major provisions of the bill. We did this for two reasons. First, we wanted to provide our readers with factual, comprehensive information about this transformative bill, especially as misinformation from dark money groups began to spread. And equally important, we also wanted to share a vision of what is possible, and that we have concrete policy solutions to fix our broken democracy.
In March, the House passed the For The People Act, an achievement in its own right. Nearly every single Democrat voted in favor. As the bill headed to the Senate, we knew it would be an uphill battle — the filibuster, after all, makes the Senate a graveyard for progress. Nevertheless, the battle began in the Senate. In May, the bill moved through the markup process in committee (Kate wrote a summary of the 9 hour affair here), and in June the bill was called to the full floor for a vote to start debate. Many proclaimed the bill dead when Sen. Joe Manchin voiced his opposition to the bill, but enough pressure was generated that the West Virginia Senator returned to the negotiating table and ended up voting with his 49 Democratic colleagues to start debate.
As you know, the Senate never actually debated the For The People Act because Republicans filibustered the motion to proceed. This was hardly a surprise. At every turn, GOP senators have made it clear that they will do whatever they can to prevent this bill from passing. Not a single Republican voted to start debate.
While Republicans display intransigence in the Senate, state-level GOP officials have pushed nearly 400 anti-voter bills across the country, dozens of them already turned into law. No wonder their national counterparts do not want to debate the For The People Act — which would set national standards for voter access and retroactively protect the American people from anti-voter laws.
The only way to protect our democracy is to pass the For The People Act. After the Supreme Court further weakened the Voting Rights Act last week, this has only become more clear.
Where We Are Headed:
Passing the For The People Act will come down to whether or not Senate Democrats have the courage to reform or eliminate the filibuster. As the Washington Post Editorial Board recently explained, since Republicans are unwilling to act in good faith on voting rights legislation, the Democrats must take matters into their own hands — after all, they are the majority. I can’t help but point out the irony that an undemocratic senate procedure is the largest hurdle to protecting democracy.
Currently, 49 Democratic senators are open to reforming the filibuster. Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) is the only one who still opposes reform of any kind (she does support the For The People Act). Wishfully, she still believes that there is room to compromise on voting legislation — even after Senator Manchin proposed a compromise plan that was immediately vetoed by Republicans in the press. There are also a handful of Democratic senators who are open to reform but it is unclear whether they would support changes to allow the For The People Act to pass with only 50 votes.
There is so much pessimism in the press about this historic bill, but I just want you to remember something: We have never been so close to passing the For The People Act. This is not the time to give up.
Ideally, when the Senate returns next week, the Democratic caucus will have fruitful discussions about filibuster reform and passing the For The People Act. Regardless, it’s up to us to build public pressure to help senators understand the urgency of the situation. Over the past two weeks, over 300 Deadline For Democracy events have taken place. And, there are countless upcoming events. We need to demand a democracy for the people, because it certainly won’t be handed to us.
Upcoming Events:
July 17th: There will be ‘Good Trouble Vigils’ throughout the country to honor the life of Rep. John Lewis and to raise awareness about two bills he championed: The For The People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
July 19th - August 2nd: The Poor People’s Campaign will host weekly nonviolent direct actions around the country and in D.C. to push the Senate to pass the For The People Act.
July 22nd @ 7:30 pm: The Network for Responsible Public Policy will host a webinar breaking down key provisions of the For The People Act. Sign up here.
Don’t forget to subscribe to get more updates about the For The People Act and exciting future events.
In the News:
The New York Times’ Maggie Astor investigates the impacts of Republican anti-voter laws on Native Americans in Montana. Republicans in Montana want to restrict voting methods that are often utilized by Native Americans, including Election Day registration.
In the Charleston Gazette, Jeff Kessler, former West Virginia State Senate President and former Lt. Governor, argues that filibuster reform is necessary. Kessler believes that the filibuster, in its current form, operates as a tool of obstruction and stymies both bipartisanship and the ability of the government to function.
Mother Jones’ Ari Berman warns that Texas Republicans will again try to pass anti-voter legislation. Texas already has some of the most restrictive voting laws in the country, but in a special session that started yesterday, the GOP legislature and governor are hoping to make it even harder to vote. Berman makes it clear that the best way to combat these laws is to pass the For The People Act.
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, 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!