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States United Action Statement on Failure to Advance Comprehensive Federal Voting Rights Reform

We must stand united against any attempt to politicize, criminalize, or interfere with free and fair elections.

Published: 1.19.22

Washington, D.C. — In reaction to the failure of some Senators to advance the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act, States United Action released the following statement from States United Action CEO Joanna Lydgate and Co-Chairs former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman and Ambassador Norman Eisen.

“We are profoundly disappointed by the failure of some Senators to advance federal election reform today. While we must continue to push our leaders in Congress to protect the freedom to vote, we must prepare to safeguard free and fair elections without new federal legislation for now.

Elections are national events that are led and run by the states. In the face of lies, threats, and intimidation, state and local leaders protected the will of the voters in the 2020 election cycle. They will be called upon to lead again in 2022, 2024, and beyond–and we must all come together with a full court press to support them.

We are going into this year with our eyes wide open to the lengths to which certain politicians will go to undermine our elections and hold on to power. The anti-democracy playbook is simple: Change the rules and change the referees, in order to change the results. Politicians who continue to deny the results of the 2020 election want the power to overturn the will of the voters in future elections if they don’t like the results.

We must stand united against any attempt to politicize, criminalize, or interfere with free and fair elections. There are no shortcuts here. It’s all hands on deck–and at States United, we are all in to protect the freedom to vote, to hold those who undermine elections accountable, and to prevent the political violence that puts our democracy at risk.”

States United spokespeople and experts are available for interviews on this story.

Additional Resources:

  • The Freedom to Vote Act: John R. Lewis Act includes multiple provisions that limit election hijacking attempts at the state level. The States United Democracy Center, Protect Democracy, and Law Forward released the report “A Democracy Crisis in the Making” documenting this alarming national trend and analyzing the more than 200 bills introduced in state houses seeking to politicize, interfere, and meddle with election administration.
  • The Freedom to Vote Act includes a number of provisions from S.1, The For the People Act, including automatic voter registration and early voting requirements. In March, the States United Democracy Center released a first-of-its-kind report, “The Impact of H.R.1 & S.1 on Voting: An Analysis of Key States.” The report examines how federal standards would affect federal elections in particular states, with a focus on how federal legislation would protect the freedom to vote and help thwart voter suppression efforts sweeping statehouses across the country. Much of this state-by-state analysis applies to the newly announced Freedom to Vote Act.

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About States United Action

States United Action is a nonpartisan section 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization with a mission to protect our elections and our democracy. States United Action advocates for policies that protect election integrity, hold democracy violators accountable, and prevent political violence that threatens to undermine the will of the American people, and amplifies the voices of state leaders and law enforcement leaders who share these values.