Equality, freedom, and representation are central to the practice of democracy. To remain a democratic republic, the U.S. must protect the voting freedom of every eligible American, ensuring our ability to participate in free and fair elections. Among American voters, there is wide bipartisan support for federal protection of voter rights. Recognizing this, historically both the Republican and the Democratic parties have overwhelmingly supported the Voting Rights Act and its renewals. 

Unfortunately, since the November 2020 election many state legislatures have passed legislation to restrict access to the ballot. In all cases these have been strictly partisan initiatives. The Freedom to Vote Act (FTVA) is intended to provide much-needed reforms and standards that protect the right to vote for every eligible American and promote democratic processes that are representative of and accountable to the American people.

Federal elections affect us all, and a uniform standard for voting access nationwide can provide assurance for all citizens that elections are conducted fairly in all other states. The FTVA is intended to provide much-needed reforms in order to protect the right to vote for every eligible American and to promote democratic processes that are representative of and accountable to the American people. Many of the provisions in this bill have bipartisan and majority support among the general public (automatic voter registration, ending partisan gerrymandering, limiting campaign spending, no-excuse vote-by-mail, restoration of voting rights, early voting, and voter ID). 

This letter-writing campaign began as an effort to ask senators to demonstrate support for voting freedom by engaging in good faith conversation across the aisle about the Freedom to Vote Act. With the authors’ permission, we’re reprinting some of those letters here.