House Democrats introduce democracy reform package
Published 3:45 pm Friday, January 4, 2019
On Friday, House Democrats introduced a package of bills that will take on election, campaign finance and ethics reform, according to a press release from Rep. Terri Sewell, D-AL.
The reform package, known as the For the People Act, is “designed to give American voters a stronger voice in government.”
The legislation would restore the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which was recently undermined by the U.S. Supreme Court’s Shelby County v Holder decision. Sewell took the lead in sponsoring that portion of the legislation.
“The American people asked for reforms that give everyone a fair voice in our elections, and Democrats are delivering,” Sewell said. “In Alabama’s 7th District, our families marched, bled, and died for their right to have a fair voice in our democracy, but today new strategies for disenfranchisement are keeping eligible voters from engaging in our elections.”
The reform package aims to fight against gerrymandering, further strengthen campaign finance laws and close loopholes in the nation’s ethics code.
“As we begin work in the House to investigate voter discrimination and the state of voter protections in our elections, I am proud to see a commitment in the For the People Act to restoring the vote,” Sewell said. “There is much work left to do, but today’s introduction takes a big step towards building a government of, by, and for the people.”