Last year, End Citizens United // Let America Vote launched the Democracy Defenders Program, a $7 million initiative to support Democratic Attorney General and Secretary of State candidates in battleground states across the country. These Attorney General and Secretary of State candidates are committed to protecting the voice and vote of the people and cracking down on corporate greed. Meanwhile, their GOP opponents have consistently attacked the freedom to vote, pushing measures to restrict access to the ballot box and sabotage our elections, and shown their loyalty to corporate special interests.
So far, ECU // LAV has endorsed ten Attorney General and Secretary of State candidates. From Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford taking action against price gouging, to Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson rejecting attempts by the state legislature to restrict voting access, ECU // LAV’s Democracy Defenders have proven their dedication to protecting the freedom to vote and siding with the interests of the people.
See below for updates on how our Democracy Defenders are protecting the freedom to vote and protecting the interests of the people:
Jocelyn Benson, MI-SOS: Increasing Election Transparency
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[Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn] Benson, a Detroit Democrat, on Friday said the [GOP-majority Joint Committee on Administrative Rules’ proposed absentee voter rules] would restrict voting rights. “Michigan’s citizens voted overwhelmingly in the 2018 election to enshrine in our state constitution their right to vote absentee, and I will not let a small group of partisan legislators restrict those rights to spread and codify long debunked conspiracy theories and lies,” Benson said in a statement.
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The Michigan Department of State on Monday, March 14, released a video that explains why results of major elections in Michigan often aren’t available right after polls close, marking the first of a series of videos that transparently explain Michigan election operations to educate voters and counter and preempt election misinformation.“In this era of misinformation, when lies about Michigan elections risk undermining public faith in our government and our democracy, Sunshine Week (This week), is an opportunity to highlight the transparency and integrity of our state’s election system,” said Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. “This series of short, simple videos will help citizens protect themselves from those seeking to discourage them from voting.”
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Dana Nessel, MI-AG: Fighting the Opioid Crisis
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Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Monday that Michigan will receive nearly $800 million over 18 years as part of the historic opioid settlements… “I took legal action once I took office to try to recoup money for the devastating impact that the opioid epidemic has had on the communities across our state,” Nessel said. “I am pleased to see our work pay off with this historic settlement that will bring Michigan communities millions of dollars to support abatement efforts. I know that no amount of money will make whole the thousands of Michigan families impacted by opioids, but this is an important victory in a hard-fought battle.”
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While the state Senate keeps Michigan in the dark, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, announced Wednesday that her office will soon begin accepting online credit card payments for FOIA requests. The initiative began with Kelly Rossman-McKinney, former spokeswoman for the AG’s Office who died in November.
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Aaron Ford, NV-AG: Stopping Price Gouging at the Pump
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With gas prices at a new record high in Nevada and across the nation this week, Attorney General Aaron Ford released a statement vowing to take action against any suppliers caught setting unfair or deceptive prices at the pump. Ford pledged he and his office would “use every tool at our disposal” to “fully investigate any suspected instances of price gouging at the pump.”
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Josh Kaul, WI-AG: Holding Corporations Accountable
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Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul filed a lawsuit Monday against Johnson Controls and Tyco Fire Products over PFAS pollution, alleging the companies contaminated the Marinette area over decades and haven’t done enough to clean things up.
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Bee Nguyen, GA-SOS: Standing up against Voting Restrictions
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House Republicans pushed through a bill to make further changes to Georgia’s voting rules late Tuesday over Democratic objections that the GOP was feeding an insatiable monster — Donald Trump’s “big lie” that Georgia’s 2020 election was stolen from the former president, despite no evidence… Rep. Bee Nguyen, an Atlanta Democrat running for Secretary of State, said nothing short of overturning the 2020 election will satisfy the Republican voters who showed up to testify that House Bill 1464 doesn’t go far enough. “These are the consequences of what happens when members of this body allowed and continue to allow lies and conspiracy theories to go unchecked because instead of being honest about the security of our election system, this lie festered,” Nguyen said. “And now it is uncontrollable.”
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Jen Jordan, GA-AG: Ensuring State Government Works for the People
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The Atlanta Journal Constitution
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With a quick vote last week, the Georgia General Assembly passed the first bill to break up a county’s volunteer, bipartisan elections board. It’s the beginning of legislation to remove equal political representation over local election offices across Georgia… State Sen. Jen Jordan, a Democrat from Atlanta, said attempts to make election boards more one-sided will further undermine public confidence in elections. “It’s a troubling trend. People already are questioning the legitimacy of elections,” Jordan said. “It’s partisan. It comes from all the untruths and misstatements of the election.”
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The Atlanta Journal Constitution
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A state audit has sharply criticized the Georgia Department of Labor for its handling of unemployment benefits during the pandemic… State Sen. Jen Jordan, a Democratic member of the appropriations committee, said the report was spurred by “desperate calls from constituents who needed their (unemployment) benefits and weren’t even able to get anyone on the phone at the Department of Labor. People were hurting and they couldn’t get answers.” She called it “incredibly frustrating” to think that DOL’s problems could have been fixed. “The DOL needs to completely modernize its claim system. Full stop.”
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Jena Griswold, CO-SOS: Fighting back against Election Sabotage
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In light of “insider threats” such as those allegedly committed by indicted Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, Colorado’s top election official wants to mandate increased security and training for people running local elections, as well as increase penalties for people who break election law… “I don’t think we were thinking about insider threats before Mesa,” Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said at a news conference Monday to debut the bill, referring to allegations against Peters. “We have lots of safeguards, but the idea that someone elected to uphold elections would try to destroy from within was shocking to the election community in Colorado.”
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Phil Weiser, CO-AG: Protecting Consumers
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General Phil Weiser wants the U.S. Department of Transportation to investigate Frontier. He says both airlines don’t provide quality customer service, and the merger would “worsen” unfair treatment of Colorado customers…“Companies that take advantage of consumers must be held accountable, and the prospect of this merger creates an immediate need for the USDOT to examine Frontier’s business practices to ensure both airlines have practices and policies in place that comply with laws requiring carriers to treat consumers fairly and honestly,” Weiser stated in a news release on Tuesday.
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