The Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act

The Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act ensures safe, secure and accessible elections for all,

enhances the ability of every American to cast their ballots freely, equally and without

interference, and sets national standards for voting access to guarantee the right to vote in our

nation’s democracy. This measure combines two pieces of vital democracy-promotion legislation

– the Freedom to Vote Act and the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.

The Freedom to Vote Act will set basic national standards for voting, stop partisan

gerrymandering on both sides of the aisle, and strengthen the American people’s faith in our

democracy. The bill will:

• Expand automatic voter registration and same-day registration;

• Set a national standard for no-excuse vote by mail for every eligible voter;

• Protect against unlawful and faulty voter purges, while allowing states to accurately

maintain their voter registration lists;

• Expand early voting by requiring states to offer early voting at least two weeks prior to

Election Day;

• Enhance protections individuals with disabilities;

• Make Election Day as a national holiday;

• Provides standards for voter identification, which require uniform national standard for

states that require identification for in-person voting and allows voters to present a broad

set of identification cards and documents in hard copy and digital form.

• Prevent partisan election subversion by restricting the politicized removal of election

officials and enhance the protections for election records, including ballots and voting

systems;

• Prohibit the dissemination of false and misleading information designed to dissuade

eligible voters from casting a ballot;

• Improve election security by requiring post-election audits and voter verifiable paper

records of a votes;

• Protect elections from foreign interference;

• End partisan gerrymandering;

• Promote digital ad transparency;

• Force disclosure of dark money; and

• Establish a self-sustaining democracy trust fund to support state-directed democracy

promotion activities.

In addition, this bill contains the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which corrects

the Supreme Court’s disastrous decision in Shelby County v. Holder, which held the Voting

Rights Act Section 4 preclearance coverage formula to be unconstitutional and responds to the

call from the Chief Justice for a formula that reflects current conditions. This division also

includes the Native American Voting Rights Act, which protects the rights of Native Americans

to vote and addresses the barriers experienced by voters living on tribal lands.