Freedom to Vote
Our democracy should be our best tool for advancing climate solutions, but it has been hijacked by fossil fuel interests. Millions of people, especially Black and Brown communities, are blocked from participating in elections because of restrictions on voting rights and the corroding influence of corporate money in politics.
We only have a handful of years left to reduce the power of fossil fuel companies polluting our communities and democratic systems before rocketing past climate thresholds and finding ourselves at a catastrophic point of no return—unless we first fix our broken democracy. But a handful of extremist politicians are busy putting up barriers to silence our voices based on what we look like or where we live.
No matter our color, party, or zip code, all people should have an equal say in the decisions that shape our future. The future of our democracy should not and cannot be in the hands of corporate polluters and politicians who want to take us back to the Jim Crow era. They’ve made it clear that they do not want us to exercise our freedom to vote and make our voices heard. We can’t let that happen. The stakes are too high for our country and planet.
The reforms in the Freedom to Vote Act will get big money out of politics, restore voting rights, offer new protections for voters, end gerrymandering so that electoral districts are fairly drawn, and hold government officials accountable with new ethics standards. This will help return power to the people.
Combined with the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, these two bills are not only popular across the political spectrum, they also have the ability to put the power of our democracy back into the hands of the people. This is the kind of reform we need to strengthen our path towards a more green, just, and equitable planet. It is only when we can all fairly participate in the democratic process — Black, Brown, Indigenous, and working class people — that we will have the kind of future we want.
