A Framework for the People’s Right to Vote, Democracy, and Economic Opportunity
A PDF copy of these Policy Points can be found here
The promise of the March on Washington requires a multi-racial and inclusive democracy in which every person has an equal voice, every family has access to affordable housing, health care, care for loved ones, and a quality public education, as these are essential in allowing every worker to thrive.
We come together at a moment when fundamental rights, civil rights enforcement, and the collection of essential demographic data are under attack, while political leaders are provoking hate and division, separating families through detention and deportation, and destabilizing communities. These attacks disproportionately affect our communities that have historically faced discrimination, including racial and ethnic communities, LGBTQIA+ people, people with disabilities, women, immigrants, religious minorities, and other marginalized communities.
Our response must be a bold, affirmative commitment to protect the rights and dignity of every person. Congress must strengthen the federal agencies responsible for enforcing our civil rights laws and provide them with the authority, independence, resources, and expertise needed to protect every community. Congress must preserve the collection of race, gender, disability, and other demographic data, not only so that we have ground truth, transparency, and accountability, but also to be able to identify and address inequities. It must also protect the full range of legal tools available to prove and remedy discrimination, including disparate impact.
Our rights and our futures are connected. Together, we must build lasting power across our communities and transform the promise of equality into durable, enforceable protections. Our fundamental rights cannot depend on temporary policies, shifting political majorities, or the will of a powerful few. We must build strong laws and democratic institutions that protect every person, withstand political change, and move us closer to a democracy and economy that works for everyone.
We demand that our elected officials take bold and immediate action on the following priorities:
Build a democracy in which every voter has a voice and elected leaders are accountable to the people. Every voter must have a meaningful opportunity to elect leaders who understand their concerns and are accountable to them. Congress must guarantee equal access to the ballot, strengthen federal voting rights protections, and prevent politicians from manipulating voting rules or electoral maps to remain in power. Black, Latino, Asian American, Native American, and other voters of color must be protected from racial discrimination designed to weaken their political voice. Congress must enact bold, comprehensive protections that maximize access to the ballot, end separate and unequal voting systems, ensure fair representation, and block racial discrimination in voting requirements and map drawing.
Create a fair and accountable democracy. Congress must ensure that the institutions entrusted with protecting our rights are accountable to the people. This includes establishing binding and enforceable ethics requirements and term limits for Supreme Court justices and considering other structural reforms that strengthen checks and balances, preserve access to justice, and ensure that no person or institution is above the law.
Ensure that every community is seen, counted, and represented. Congress must protect a fair and accurate Census that counts all people and must ensure the continued collection, usable publication, and responsible use of complete, disaggregated data, including data on race, gender, disability, and other demographic characteristics. Without a full and comprehensive understanding of who we are, the needs and realities of our country and its people cannot be understood. Without complete and accurate data, disparities and inequities cannot be fully seen or remedied. Reliable data is essential to fair representation, sound and equitable public investment, effective enforcement of civil rights laws, and policies that respond to the needs of every community. Our communities to be seen and recognized.
Raise incomes, lower costs, and protect workers. Working families deserve an economy in which wages keep pace with the cost of living and everyone shares in the benefits of economic growth. Congress must raise wages, lower the cost of essential goods and services, reduce income and wealth inequality, and close racial, gender, and disability pay gaps. Congress must also provide paid family and medical leave and paid sick and safe days, protect workers from discrimination and exploitation, ensure that workers share in the opportunities created by emerging technologies, and safeguard the right to organize and bargain collectively.
Ensure that artificial intelligence and data infrastructure work for all communities. Congress must establish strong federal standards to ensure that artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies expand opportunity, strengthen our workforce, protect privacy, and advance civil rights. These technologies must be developed and used transparently and responsibly, with workers and communities having a voice in the decisions that affect them. Data centers and other technology infrastructure must pay their fair share, create quality jobs, invest in host communities, and contribute to local infrastructure and economic opportunity, rather than shifting costs onto residents or displacing workers.
Make housing affordable and expand lasting homeownership for families. To address the nationwide housing affordability crisis, Congress must enact a bold national housing plan with strong investments to increase the supply of safe and affordable housing, expand rental assistance, protect families from displacement, and put more families on the road to lasting homeownership. Congress must also ensure strong enforcement of the Fair Housing Act, Community Reinvestment Act, and other federal civil rights and fair-lending protections to address segregation, discriminatory lending, and the racial wealth gap.
Ensure families and caregivers have the health care, child care, and elder care they need. Every family should be able to obtain quality health care and care for loved ones without facing financial hardship. Congress must protect and expand access to affordable health coverage, lower prescription drug and health care costs, create fair working conditions for care workers so they too can care for their families, and ensure that our health and our care are not inferior because of skin color or zip code. Congress must make high-quality child care, home- and community-based services, and elder care accessible and affordable. Congress must also create fair working conditions for care workers so they can care for their own families and ensure that care work is a quality job.
Guarantee equal opportunity in education. Every child deserves a well-funded, safe, and inclusive public education, regardless of race, disability, language, immigration status, or zip code. Congress should strengthen investments in public schools, early childhood education, services for students with disabilities, and ensure equal access and affordable pathways to higher education and workforce training, while protecting and enforcing the civil rights of all students.
Build an immigration system that works for people and is rooted in dignity, fairness, and accountability. Congress must create a humane and functional immigration system that welcomes immigrants and refugees of all backgrounds, protects the rights of immigrant and citizen workers alike, keeps families together, and respects due process. Congress must establish meaningful accountability and oversight for immigration enforcement, end reliance on for-profit detention, and reduce unnecessary surveillance and detention. Reform must create fair pathways to citizenship for longtime members of our communities, including Dreamers and Temporary Protected Status recipients who have contributed to our country for many years.