Advisory: The Freedom to Vote in 2021 - What You Need to Know
Two weeks ago, Congress introduced the Freedom to Vote Act, a transformative proposal that would increase Americans’ access to the ballot box, neutralize partisan and racial gerrymandering and increase transparency in our campaign finance system. But what exactly is in the bill, and how would it help combat state laws creating barriers to voting that impact millions of Americans?
WHAT: Campaign Legal Center (CLC) is hosting a call that is open to the press with voting rights experts about the bill and its provisions, and we're excited to welcome venture capitalist and writer Patrick J. McGinnis, who will offer a business insider's view. We'll also discuss CLC's State Scorecard, a report that grades how states have changed their vote-by-mail and early voting laws this year. The results make a compelling case for why the Freedom To Vote Act is so monumentally important to achieving the promise of democracy for us all.
WHEN: Join us today, September 28 – National Voter Registration Day – at 2pm Eastern.
WHO:
- Trevor Potter is the founder and president of Campaign Legal Center. He is a former chairman of the Federal Election Commission, and was general counsel to John McCain’s 2000 and 2008 presidential campaigns, and an adviser to the drafters of the McCain-Feingold law. To many, he is perhaps best known for his recurring appearances on The Colbert Report as the lawyer for Stephen Colbert’s super PAC, Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow, during the 2012 election, a program that won a Peabody Award for excellence in reporting on money in politics. He has served as chair of several American Bar Association election law and lobbying regulation committees and task forces and is currently a member of the ABA's Standing Committee on Election Law as well as the American Law Institute. Follow Trevor on Twitter at @thetrevorpotter.
- Jo Deutsch joined CLC in September of 2019, after fighting for more than 35 years as a lobbyist on Capitol Hill for equality and rights for women, the LGBT community and the labor and progressive movements. At CLC, Jo is responsible for federal lobbying and is the point of contact for many of the coalitions in which CLC participates. Prior to her work at CLC, Jo was president of Deutsch Initiatives Group, where she focused on lobbying and political activism to support her clients. Before that, she was federal director for Freedom to Marry, where she successfully oversaw the federal campaign and lobbied for the freedom to marry for same-sex couples.
- Danielle Lang joined CLC in October 2015. Danielle litigates a wide range of voting rights and redistricting matters before federal courts from district courts to the Supreme Court, including groundbreaking cases like the challenge to Texas’ strict voter ID law. She also has an active amicus practice before the Supreme Court and other federal courts. Danielle presents at conferences nationwide and conducts trainings on federal voting rights law through the Voting Rights Institute, a project of CLC, the American Constitution Society and Georgetown Law. She is frequently quoted in national news publications, including The New York Times, Los Angeles Times and CNN. Follow Danielle on Twitter at @DaniLang_DC.
- Patrick J. McGinnis is a venture capitalist, writer and speaker who has invested in leading companies in the United States, Latin America, Europe and Asia. He is the creator and host of the hit podcast "FOMO Sapiens," which is distributed by Harvard Business Review and has achieved over 2 million downloads. Patrick coined the term “FOMO” short for “Fear of Missing Out”, which was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2013. He is also the creator of the term “FOBO” or “Fear of a Better Option” and has been featured as the creator of both terms in media outlets including the New York Times, The Financial Times, Boston Globe, The Guardian, Inc.magazine, Cosmopolitan and MSNBC. His TED Talk “How to Make Faster Decisions” was released in 2019. Follow Patrick on Twitter at @pjmcginnis.
- Valencia Richardson is an equal justice works fellow at CLC. Her work focuses on addressing local-level election compliance under the Voting Rights Act in the Deep South. Valencia received her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. During law school, Valencia served as editor-in-chief of the Georgetown Journal of Law and Modern Critical Race Perspectives and the president of Georgetown Law Students for Democratic Reform. Valencia also worked as a student attorney in the Georgetown Law Civil Rights Clinic and interned for the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and the Campaign Legal Center. She is the author of a nonfiction book, “Young and Disaffected.” Follow Valencia on Twitter at @valthebeast.
WHY: The American people have been calling for national standards to protect our freedom to vote, ensure fair representation and increase transparency in political campaign spending. The Freedom to Vote Act is a significant step in that direction. We hope you can join us to find out why!