The Freedom to Vote Act

My name is Stacy and I am a retired professor in Fallbrook.

The Freedom to Vote Act sets national standards for us to safely and freely cast our ballots, ensure every vote is counted, and elect people who will deliver for us. Our Senators need to deliver the Freedom to Vote Act to the American people, and to do that, they need to fix the Jim Crow filibuster which is blocking progress of this overwhelmingly popular and urgently needed legislation.

The freedom to vote is under attack by extremist state lawmakers across the country who want to put up deliberate barriers to make it harder to vote – especially for people of color.

Congress must act now to implement national standards for federal elections. The Freedom to Vote Act would protect our right to vote, end partisan gerrymandering, counter undemocratic and dangerous election sabotage efforts, and help to eliminate the undue influence of dark money in our elections.

The filibuster has stopped the beginning of debate from happening on the Freedom to Vote Act. Without the chance to debate, important issues such as this are stalled for partisan politics.

The filibuster is a loophole, historically used to block civil rights legislation. The original Senate rules did not include the filibuster rule. The modern-day filibuster took root during the Jim Crow era, when racist southern senators used it to delay passage of important civil rights legislation.

Our Senators, Alex Padilla and Diane Feinstein must do everything they can to pass the Freedom to Vote Act, including fixing the filibuster, to realize the promise of democracy for all.

Stacy Schaefer