Freedom to Vote Act: A Comprehensive Voting Rights Bill
Background
The Freedom to Vote Act (FTVA) is a comprehensive voting rights bill that addresses a wide range of issues, including voter registration, voting access, election integrity and security, redistricting, and campaign finance.
The FTVA comes in response to a wave of restrictive voting bills that were introduced in 43 states and passed in 18 states in 2021. These bills were widely seen as an attempt to suppress voter turnout, particularly among minority voters.
Key Provisions
The FTVA includes a number of key provisions, including:
- Automatic voter registration for all eligible citizens.
- Same-day voter registration.
- Early voting for at least 15 days before an election.
- No-excuse absentee voting.
- Restoration of voting rights for people with felony convictions.
- Increased funding for election security.
- Limits on partisan gerrymandering.
- Public financing of elections.
The FTVA is the slimmed-down successor to HR 1, a massive Democratic messaging bill on voting rights. Democrats attempted to pass the Freedom to Vote Act again on January 19, 2022, as part of a combined bill with the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, but they were unable to overcome Republican opposition.
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