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Americans overwhelmingly support the Freedom to Vote Act. Senators must chart a path forward to President Biden’s desk in the wake of today’s filibuster. Today’s vote is the third time in recent months that all 50 Senate Democrats have voted to advance major voting rights legislation only to be met with Republican opposition. The Senate loophole long used to stymie civil rights legislation must not be abused again to defend the new Jim Crow laws being passed across the country to make it harder to vote today - particularly in Black and Brown communities.

More than 1,500 small businesses across the country are demanding the immediate passage of the priorities in the Freedom to Vote Act, to ensure a government that reflects voters’ vision to increase local investment, create good jobs, and foster equitable economies. The ranks of small business getting behind the legislation have continued to grow in recent weeks as a series of votes on the legislation are anticipated in the coming weeks. Business Forward and Common Cause have worked with these businesses to advocate in support of the bill — and 1,500 small business leaders have written letters to the editor, met with senators, and signed on to letters in support of protecting the freedom of every American to cast a ballot and curbing the outsized influence of deep-pocketed special interests in Washington (see the letters below). Efforts to enlist more small business in support of the legislation are expected to continue in the weeks ahead.

Some of us believe the filibuster should be eliminated; others think reforms like a return to the "talking filibuster" can work, so long as there is a path to up-or-down votes on important legislation. The Freedom to Vote Act, a compromise measure recently introduced by Sen. Joe Manchin, is a fitting vehicle to usher in a new era of transparency and accountability.

Common Cause is urging every member of the U.S. Senate to vote to begin debate on the Freedom to Vote Act when the Senate considers the legislation later this week.  The letter emphasizes that already this year, 19 states have enacted 33 restrictive voting laws that make it harder for Americans – particularly in Black and Brown communities - to have a say in choosing their elected leaders. The letter also notes that Common Cause plans to key-vote this legislation in our Democracy Scorecard, which we send to our 1.5 million members.  

“It seems that if the Department of Justice were going to charge Trump, it would do so this month before the statute of limitations on the most significant charges related to the illegally large contribution runs,” said Paul S. Ryan, vice president of policy and litigation at the government watchdog group Common Cause. Ryan’s signature is on two complaints, one to the Federal Election Commission and another to the DOJ, that tried to hold Trump accountable for the hush money payment.

“For 20 years I’ve been looking at the issue through the other end of the telescope, at ‘dark money’ nonprofits trying to hide that they’re influencing politics,” Paul S. Ryan, general counsel for campaign finance watchdog Common Cause, said. “This is the opposite—these PACs appear to be trying to pass themselves off as nonprofits and trying to hide that by spending on the political end. It raises the same concern, though, because in both cases they mislead the government about the use of contributions. And that’s where these scam PACs may be running afoul of the law.” He pointed out that the sudden change in reporting suggests the groups are either mischaracterizing the nature of their spending now, or had been mischaracterizing it for years previously. “It’s illegal to mislead the government,” he said. “And donors should never be lied to.” Ryan also noted that “it also sounds like we very well could be talking about a federal wire fraud statute violation,” citing the fact that every one of the more than two dozen donors contacted by The Daily Beast over the course of the last year said they had been deceived.