The Freedom to Vote Act would dramatically strengthen our democracy by establishing baseline national standards to protect the freedom the vote and ensure access to the ballot for communities of color. It adopts a number of reform measures for federal elections that includes early voting, voting by mail, automatic and same day registration, protection against voting roll purges, and restoring voting rights to citizens with felony convictions. Importantly, the Freedom to Vote Act represents a direct response to the recent wave of state anti-voter laws and election sabotage efforts by ensuring ballot access for all, preventing partisan gerrymandering, banning dark money, and protecting election officials and poll workers from partisan politics and harassment.
In July 2023, Members of Congress in the Senate and the House jointly reintroduced the Freedom to Vote Act for the 118th Congress as S.1 and H.R. 11. Read The Leadership Conference statement and our coalition letter to Members of Congress urging swift passage. We attended the press conference in the U.S. Capitol announcing introduction and participated in another press conference on Capitol Hill with Members of Congress in support of the bill.
The Leadership Conference has strongly advocated for this legislation in the past. In 2021, we supported the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act that included the Freedom to Vote Act, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, and the Native American Voting Rights Act. In January 2022, we submitted a letter to Congress in support of the joint bill and later that month, we sent a letter to Congress supporting a cloture vote on the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act.
Together with the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, the Freedom to Vote Act would ensure everyone has access to the ballot box and can fully participate in our democracy.