Protect Democracy applauds the House of Representatives for passing H.R. 1

We applaud the U.S. House of Representatives, particularly Speaker Pelosi and Congressman Sarbanes on the passage of the For the People Act (H.R. 1). Protect Democracy strongly supports many of the provisions of this bill and believes that it begins to address the fundamental and urgent problems facing our democracy. In particular, we are encouraged that the voting, election cybersecurity, and election interference provisions in Title 1 protect the right to vote and the right to have all votes counted.

Since our inception, Protect Democracy has acted to protect many of the rights H.R. 1 seeks to protect, most importantly the right to vote for all Americans. We are encouraged that Congress has taken this step to ensure that all Americans can participate in our most basic democratic processes. All Members of Congress from both parties should support these basic values and urge the U.S. Senate to bring this legislation to a vote in a responsible manner.

The American people want Congress to tackle the problems this bill is designed to tackle, but they also realize that this is just a beginning and that the task of democracy reform must not end here. Over the last several Presidential administrations, executive power has grown, weakening the basic checks and balances that are fundamental to our democratic system. Last year, Protect Democracy proposed a Roadmap for Renewal setting out reforms Congress should enact to strengthen our democracy. Many of these are included in H.R. 1, and both Congress and our next President should continue to take responsibility for its constitutional role to safeguard our democracy.