The Freedom to Vote Alliance is a left-leaning voting issue advocacy group that supports legislation that would, among other things, redraw congressional districts, expand mail-in voting, increase campaign spending disclosure requirements, and penalize speech critical of reported election results.

Background

The website of the Freedom to Vote Alliance was created on December 20, 2021. ¹ Largely, the organization positions its policy advocacy as a response to state-level policy changes and initiatives instigated in the wake of the 2020 election. Particularly, the organization notes its opposition to regulations restricting mail-in voting and governing congressional redistricting, as well as legislation altering polling locations, adjusting voting hours, and recognizing lawmakers’ rights to contest reported election results. To that end, the organization alleges that these and other developments “threaten” the economy, the status of the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency, and “healthier stock market returns.” ²

Policy

The Freedom to Vote Alliance notes two pieces of proposed legislation as being particularly aligned with it policy objectives. ³

The first of these bills is the Freedom to Vote Act, sponsored by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), which would override existing election-integrity policies, expand access to mail-in and early voting, establish Election Day as a federal holiday, permit voting by felons, set forth provisions regarding congressional redistricting, and increase campaign disclosure requirements. ^{4 5}

The second bill supported by the Freedom to Vote Alliance is the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021 sponsored by Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL), which would single out and require individual state and local governments to seek “preclearance” from either the Department of Justice or the federal district court in Washington, D.C. before making changes to laws that affect voting procedures. Additionally, the bill would authorize the Department of Justice to require that state and local governments provide documents and data concerning their enforcement of voting laws. Notably, relevant factors involved in whether a state or local government is required to seek preclearance include such factors as “The extent to which voting in the elections of the State or political subdivision is racially polarized” and “whether political campaigns have been characterized by overt or subtle racial appeals.” ^{6 7}

Letter

On January 12, 2022, the Freedom to Vote Alliance sent a letter addressed to President Joseph Biden, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY), and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), which urged the three to support the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, alleging a relation between voting laws and general economic health and stability. The signatories of the letter included  individuals affiliated with large corporations, such as Steve Huffman, CEO of Reddit; Josh Silverman, CEO of Etsy; and Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google. ^{8 9}

Partners

Institutional Partners of the Freedom to Vote Alliance include the Black Economic Alliance, a nonprofit with an affiliated Political Action Committee; the Leadership Now Project, a left-of-center organization nonprofit oriented towards governance reform; and Small Business for America’s Future (formerly known as Business for Responsible Tax Reform), a left-of-center advocacy organization that promotes left-leaning federal programs and increased federal spending. ¹⁰

1. Search Result: “freedomtovotealliance.com.” ICANN. Accessed January 31, 2022. https://lookup.icann.org/lookup
2. “The Threat to Democracy and Our Economy.” Freedom to Vote Alliance. Accessed January 31, 2022. https://www.freedomtovotealliance.com/the-threat
3. “The Solution.” Freedom to Vote Alliance. Accessed January 31, 2022. https://www.freedomtovotealliance.com/the-solution
4. “S.2747 – Freedom to Vote Act.” Congress.gov. 117th Congress. Accessed January 31, 2022. https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/2747
5. “The Solution.” Freedom to Vote Alliance. Accessed January 31, 2022. https://www.freedomtovotealliance.com/the-solution
6. “H.R.4 – John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021.” Congress.gov. 117th Congress. Accessed January 31, 2022. https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/4/text
7. “The Solution.” Freedom to Vote Alliance. Accessed January 31, 2022. https://www.freedomtovotealliance.com/the-solution
8. Evers-Hillstrom, Karl. “Business executives urge Senate to bypass filibuster to pass voting rights.” The Hill. January 12, 2022. Accessed January 31, 2022. https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/business-a-lobbying/589442-business-executives-urge-senate-to-bypass-filibuster?rl=1
9. “The Letter.” Freedom to Vote Alliance. Accessed January 31, 2022. https://www.freedomtovotealliance.com/sign-on-letter
10. “About Us.” Freedom to Vote Alliance. Accessed January 31, 2022. https://www.freedomtovotealliance.com/about