In 2019 and again in 2021, the House passed H.R. 1, the For the People Act — the most comprehensive democracy reform bill since the Voting Rights Act of 1965. It would have established automatic voter registration nationwide, ended partisan gerrymandering, restored the Voting Rights Act, required disclosure of dark money donors, and created stronger ethics rules for federal officials.

Mitch McConnell denounced it as a "power grab" and a "radical socialist takeover of our elections." He refused to allow a single hearing or vote.

Two versions of the bill — H.R. 1 and later the Freedom to Vote Act — passed the House and died in McConnell's Senate.

How It Harmed Americans:

Without a federal voting rights floor, Republican-controlled state legislatures passed hundreds of restrictive voting laws after the 2020 election — cutting early voting hours, closing polling places, imposing strict voter ID requirements, and in some cases giving partisan actors the power to overturn election results.

According to the Brennan Center, between 2010 and 2022, states closed nearly 1,700 polling places, disproportionately in Black and Latino communities. The gap between the number of polling places in white versus minority neighborhoods grew larger. Gerrymandering — which the bill would have curbed — has entrenched minority rule in states like Wisconsin, where Republicans won a supermajority of legislative seats despite receiving fewer total votes statewide.

Reference List:

• H.R. 1, For the People Act, 116th and 117th Congress

• S. 2747, Freedom to Vote Act, 117th Congress

• Brennan Center for Justice, "Voting Laws Roundup" (2021–2023)

• Brennan Center for Justice, "Polling Places at Risk" and "The State of Voting Rights" reports

• Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, "The Case for H.R. 1"