Manchin, Klobuchar, others strike compromise on voting and election bill
End Citizens United // Let America Vote President Tiffany Muller released the following statement regarding the compromise bill struck on the For the People Act:
“End Citizens United // Let America Vote Action Fund strongly supports the Freedom to Vote Act and applauds Majority Leader Schumer along with Senators Klobuchar, Manchin, Merkley, Warnock, and others for their leadership in getting to an agreement on this revised bill. The new Freedom to Vote Act upholds the central pillars of the For the People Act by protecting the freedom to vote for all Americans, stopping partisan gerrymandering, and ending dark money so that billionaires can’t buy elections. If enacted, it will be the most significant anti-corruption and voting rights bill in generations.
“As Senator Joe Manchin said from the very beginning, ‘inaction is not an option.’ We praise his commitment to protecting our democracy and we commend him and Rules Committee Chairwoman Amy Klobuchar for their leadership and work in finding a reasonable path forward. We also thank Leader Chuck Schumer for his tremendous leadership in keeping this bill as a top priority, because he knows our democracy is at stake.
“We’re also grateful to Senators Merkley, Warnock, Kaine, King, Padilla, and Tester for all of their work and leadership. They understand the stakes couldn’t be higher. The freedom to vote is under a coordinated attack from dark money-fueled, self-serving politicians in states across the country; the next round of partisan gerrymandering is about to begin; and corporate special interests still have too much access and influence.
“The Senate must do whatever it takes to pass this bill immediately to ensure everyone has a say in our democracy, not just corporate interests and big donors. It cannot let outdated procedures stand in the way. We will continue the fight until the job is done.”
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