Sign the petition to President Biden: Speak out and lead for our voting rights

President Joe BIden

We are close to passing once-in-a-generation landmark legislation to protect the freedom to vote and secure our democracy. But that final step -- an up-or-down vote in the U.S. Senate -- is being blocked by Republicans’ abuse of the legislative filibuster, an arcane Senate procedure that was created by accident and has historically most often been used to block progress on civil rights.  

S.1, the For the People Act, is a sweeping package to realize the promise of our democracy, get big money out of politics, ensure our freedom to vote, and guarantee that congressional districts are drawn to give fair representation for all -- so voters pick their elected representatives, not the other way around.

The House passed the For the People Act in early March 2021 and poll after poll shows that a strong majority of Americans wants the bill passed. Now, it awaits a final vote in the Senate, where a majority of senators are being prevented from passing a popular bill that voters overwhelmingly support because of the legislative filibuster.

Democracy is connected to many important issues of the day -- the environment, economy, education, racial justice, and health care are all on the line. If Americans are ever going to see progress on the policy issues we care about, we must have a democracy that responds to the needs and priorities of voters -- not wealthy donors and corporate interests. And in order to ensure our voices and votes matter, we must demand the Senate pass S.1.

We need leadership at this moment to remind the Senate that this is a priority, a necessity, and we will not accept anything other than S.1’s passage. President Biden must forcefully speak out in favor of doing whatever is necessary, including reforming the filibuster, to ensure that the For the People Act passes. Biden has previously supported S.1, but now we need him to do more to ensure it passes!

Biden is our elected president, voted in by the people who face growing obstructions to accessing the polls. He was backed by activists and advocates who struggle to speak out against the noise of corporate monopolies on our politics.

President Biden was elected to office to improve our democracy -- and this includes ensuring EVERYONE can vote and corporate money does not buy our elections. That is why we're calling on him to continue speaking out in favor of S.1 and to urge the Senate to pass it by any means necessary!

Sign the petition: Biden must speak out in favor of doing whatever is necessary to pass S.1!

Participating Organizations:
Americans for Tax Fairness Action Fund
Broward for Progress
California Clean Money Action Fund
Center For Common Ground
Common Cause
Consumers United for Fairness
Daily Kos
Declaration for American Democracy
Decode Democracy
DemCast USA
Democracy North Carolina
Fair Elections NY
Free Speech For People
Fuerte Arts Movement
Greenpeace USA
The Juggernaut Project
League of Women Voters of the United States
League of Women Voters of Arizona
National Association of Social Workers
People for the American Way
Progressive Reform Network
Progressive Turnout Project
Un-PAC
WV Citizens for Clean Elections

To: President Joe BIden
From: [Your Name]

The Senate will vote on S.1, the For the People Act, and we must ensure its passage. That is why we look to you as our elected leader to strongly voice your support and encourage its passage in the Senate by any means necessary, including eliminating the filibuster. As our president, you must ensure we all have full access to our right to vote and corporations are not dictating our elections.