Senator Reverend Warnock, Colleagues Introduce New Legislation to Protect Freedom to Vote and Strengthen Democracy

The Freedom to Vote Act will set basic national standards to make sure all Americans can cast their ballots in the way that works best for them, regardless of what zip code they live in

Senator Warnock: “As access to the ballot remains under threat for voters in Georgia and states across the nation, I’m proud to stand with my colleagues to introduce the Freedom to Vote Act that will protect the sacred right to vote for every eligible American, no matter where they live, and enact commonsense democracy reforms that will help ensure our government remains by and for the people.”

Senator Warnock’s Preventing Election Subversion Act and Voters on the Move Act legislation are included within the new legislation

ICYMI: Senate Democrats unveil compromise bill on voting rights – READ MORE on NBC News

Sen. Warnock’s Preventing Election Subversion Act is filling the gap to combat GA’s SB 202, to prevent election takeovers – READ MORE on Vox

ICYMI: Senator Raphael Warnock to assist voter registration, through Voters on the Move Registration Act – Read more on the Atlanta Tribune

Read the bill text and summary here

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) introduced the Freedom to Vote Act, legislation to improve access to the ballot for Americans, advance commonsense election integrity reforms, and protect our democracy from relentless attacks. The Freedom to Vote Act, legislation that includes the Preventing Election Subversion Act and Voters on the Move Act, two specific provisions championed by Senator Warnock, improves access to the ballot for Georgians and for Americans, advances commonsense election integrity reforms, and protects our democracy from emerging threats. Importantly, this proposal reflects feedback from state and local election officials to ensure that the people responsible for implementing these reforms are able to do so effectively. This bill also elevates the voices of Georgia and American voters by ending partisan gerrymandering and rooting out the undue influence of special interest money in our politics.

The legislation was co-sponsored by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Angus King (I-ME), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Alex Padilla (D-CA), and Jon Tester (D-MT).

“Voting rights are preservative of every other right. The power of people voting is what has made it possible for Congress to pass expansive pandemic relief and take up landmark legislation to create jobs, move our economy forward and invest in our nation’s future,” said Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock. “As access to the ballot remains under threat for voters in Georgia and states across the nation, I’m proud to stand with my colleagues to introduce the Freedom to Vote Act to protect the sacred right to vote for every eligible American, no matter where they live, and enact commonsense democracy reforms that will help ensure our government remains by and for the people. I hope Senators on both sides of the aisle will support this bill and that the Senate can pass it with urgency. We are at an inflection point in our history, and future generations will judge how we act to preserve our democracy.”

As a long-time voting rights advocate, Senator Warnock led his colleagues and the Administration in a unifying effort to address voter suppression efforts across the country, specifically in Georgia. In July, Senator Warnock convened a group of Senators urging the path forward on voting rights and drafting plans to commit to working both at the staff and member levels to draft a voting rights bill that each member can support. As a result of this effort, this bill directly addresses voter issues in Georgia through Senator Warnock’s previous legislation, Preventing Election Subversion Act, by creating a robust national standards for early, absentee, and in-person voting, improving election security by creating a commonsense and uniform voter ID standard, requiring paper ballots, strengthening cybersecurity protections, and supporting election official recruitment and training, and addressing the voter suppression laws that have taken root across the country, starting in Georgia, by protecting local administrators from partisan interference and by setting minimum requirements for voter access.

This bill includes three sections, each intended to protect the right to vote and strengthen our democracy. Bill text can be found here.

I. Voter Access and Election Administration

This section includes provisions to advance voter access by implementing reliable state best practices for voter registration and election administration to ensure all Americans can easily exercise their freedom to vote regardless of where they live.

Automatic Voter Registration and Online Voter Registration: Enacts an automatic voter registration system for each state through the state’s motor vehicle agency and ensures voters in all states have access to online voter registration.

Election Day Holiday: Makes Election Day a public holiday.

Uniform Early Voting: Ensures voters have access to at least 15 consecutive days of early voting for federal elections, including two weekends, while accommodating small election jurisdictions and vote-by-mail jurisdictions.

Same Day Voter Registration: Ensures every state offers same day registration at a limited number of locations for the 2022 elections and at all polling locations by 2024, allowing election officials, especially in rural areas, time to implement the new requirements.

Federal Minimum Standards on Vote by Mail and Drop Boxes: Ensures all voters can request a mail-in ballot, improves the delivery of election mail, and puts in place minimum standards to ensure drop boxes are available and accessible to all voters.

Strengthens Voter List Maintenance Standards: Requires that the removal of voters from the rolls is done on the basis of reliable and objective evidence and prohibits the use of returned mail sent by third parties to remove voters.

Counting of Provisional Ballots: Requires provisional ballots to count for all eligible races within a county, regardless of the precinct they were cast in.

Standards for Voter Identification: Promotes voter confidence and access by requiring a uniform national standard for states that requires identification for in-person voting, and allowing voters to present a broad set of identification cards and documents in hard copy and digital form.

Voting Rights Restoration for Returning Citizens: Restores the right to vote in federal elections for people who have served their time for felony convictions after they are released from prison.

Expanded Voting Access Protections for the Disabled, Native Americans, Military, Overseas Voters, and Underserved Communities: Includes targeted protections to promote accessible voting to communities facing unique challenges.

II. Election Integrity

This section includes measures to promote confidence in elections, stop partisan election subversion, and protect against election interference, both foreign and domestic.

Preventing State Election Subversion: Establishes federal protections to insulate nonpartisan state and local officials who administer federal elections from undue partisan interference or control.

Protection of Election Records, Election Infrastructure, and Ballot Tabulation: Strengthens protections for federal election records and election infrastructure in order to protect the integrity and security of ballots and voting systems.

Voter-Verified Paper Ballots, Reliable Audits, and Voting System Upgrades: Requires states to use voting systems that use paper ballots that can be verified by voters and to implement reliable post-election audits. Also provides grants for states to purchase new and more secure voting systems and make cybersecurity improvements.

Non-Partisan Election Official Recruitment and Training: Tasks the Election Assistance Commission with developing model training programs to recruit a new generation of election workers and provides dedicated grants for training and recruitment.

Comprehensive Voting System Security Protections: Puts in place election vendor cybersecurity standards, including standards for manufacturing and assembling voting machines, among other key security measures.

Establishing Duty to Report Foreign Election Interference: Creates a reporting requirement for federal campaigns to disclose certain foreign contacts.

III. Civic Participation and Empowerment

This section includes provisions to prevent partisan manipulation of the redistricting process, establishes uniform disclosure standards for money in politics, and empowers states to make critical investments in their election systems.

Non-Partisan Redistricting Reform and Banning Partisan Gerrymandering: Requires states to abide by specific criteria for congressional redistricting and makes judicial remedies available for states’ failure to comply. Allows states to choose how to develop redistricting plans, including the option of having an independent redistricting commission.

Combatting Secret Money and Election Interference (DISCLOSE Act and Honest Ads Act): Requires super PACs, 501(c)(4) groups, and other organizations spending money in elections to disclose donors and shuts down the use of transfers between organizations to cloak the identity of contributors. Ensures that political ads sold online have the same transparency and disclosure requirements as ads sold on TV, radio, and satellite.

State Election Assistance and Innovation Fund: Establishes a self-sustaining fund to finance critical investments in state-led innovations for our democracy and election infrastructure. The fund is financed through an additional assessment paid on federal fines, penalties, and settlements for certain tax crimes and corporate malfeasance. States would be allotted an annual distribution for eligible democracy and election-related investments. States could select to access their full distribution or a partial distribution, or roll over their distribution for future use.

Nonpartisan Oversight of Federal Election Law: Improves the ability of the Federal Election Commission to carry out oversight and enforcement responsibilities.

Stopping Illicit Super PAC Coordination: Creates “coordinated spender” category to ensure single-candidate super PACs do not operate as arms of campaigns.

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