Leaders for American Democracy: Countering the Attacks of Voting and Attempts to Sabotage our Elections
Never in the nearly 250 years since our country was founded have we seen a situation where a former President refuses to accept election results and — along with Republican leaders across the country — continues to not only spread dangerous disinformation about the 2020 election but to have state officials use it to pass laws that restrict the freedom to vote.
Since the unprecedented deadly attack on our Capitol on January 6th, Republican-led legislatures have passed 33 laws in 19 states that will restrict access to the ballot box. These discriminatory laws target communities of color and threaten to sabotage and overturn our elections by putting them in the hands of partisan politicians instead of trusted local officials. Those same self-serving politicians are now well into the process of drawing gerrymandered legislative maps, rigging the system for their own benefit and denying voters fair and equal representation. We also continue to see the role of dark money in our political system, the very same dark money that is funding these anti-voting efforts, increasingly silencing the will of the American people and preventing us from being able to make progress on issues like lowering prescription drug prices, combating climate change, and recovering from the pandemic.
With these dark money groups and self-serving Republican politicians showing no signs of relenting in their attempts to silence our voices and stop progress from happening, it has become clear to us at End Citizens United // Let America Vote (ECU//LAV) that we need a more powerful and coordinated effort to equip local leaders with tools to counter these attacks and fight for positive changes in our lives. That is why ECU//LAV is launching the Leaders for American Democracy (LAD) initiative.
This nationwide network of statewide and local officials will focus on voting rights and anti-corruption initiatives in state, county, and city governments with the goal of countering the extremist groups pushing restrictive voting laws and big money in our politics. Members of Leaders for American Democracy will advocate for policies like local clean election programs that encourage candidates to run people-powered campaigns, ensuring they fight for the working families they represent, not dark money or corporate interests, and fight back against anti-voter laws and efforts to sabotage our elections.
We expect to have 500 members within the first year with an emphasis on key states, including Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Wisconsin, and Virginia.
Some of the members who have already signed on include Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, Georgia House Representative Bee Nguyen, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, and Tucson City Council Member Lane Santa Cruz. They represent the next generation of officials who will fight to protect the freedom to vote and ensure that voters can elect representatives who will fight for them and their families.
The 2020 election and the January 6th insurrection against the Capitol reminds us that we cannot sit by and let our democracy be taken for granted. We have to continue this fight so that American families will have a voice and vote on the important issues that affect their lives.
