For a More Accessible, Transparent and Responsive Government, CLC’s Trevor Potter Encourages Congress to Pass the “For the People Act”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives reintroduced the For the People Act (H.R. 1), a comprehensive set of democracy reforms to advance voting rights, strengthen ethics laws, end partisan gerrymandering and decrease the influence of wealthy special interests in our political system. If passed, this much-needed legislation would enact some of the greatest, most comprehensive improvements our democracy has seen in decades.

“The reforms included in H.R. 1 are urgently needed and polls show are immensely popular. Similar bills have already been enacted at the state and local level and now are needed at the federal level. This is evidenced by the many vulnerabilities that were exposed during 2020 election season,” said Trevor Potter, president of Campaign Legal Center (CLC), and former Republican chairman of the Federal Election Commission (FEC). “The House of Representatives has already previously passed the bill, in the last session, and once it has done so again the Senate should take it up and approve it. When that has occurred, President-elect Joe Biden should sign it into law after he is sworn in as president, to create a truer, fairer and more accessible democracy for all people.”

The For the People Act garnered support from a diverse coalition of hundreds of organizations. As many as 82% of voters in battleground states – including 84% of Independents – support the legislation. The same poll showed that in those states, 75% of voters said cracking down on corruption was their top legislative priority.

Key H.R.1 provisions will address problems like access to voting, extreme partisan gerrymandering, ethical abuses by officials and difficult-to-trace dark money that supports both Democrats and Republicans. 

On Jan. 29, 2019, Adav Noti, CLC’s senior director of trial litigation, testified before Congress in support of H.R. 1. He talked about how the bill would improve campaign finance laws by ensuring that “ordinary citizens can participate in the political process without having their voices drowned out by wealthy corporations and individuals that hold special interests.”

Many elected officials have pledged to prioritize democracy reform, and they should make good on their promise. Americans deserve to have a government that is accessible, transparent and responsive to the people.