Bustos Helps Pass Historic Voting Rights, Anti-Corruption and Ethics Reforms

Press Release

Today, Congresswoman Cheri Bustos (IL-17) helped pass H.R. 1, the For the People Act, which is a sweeping package to clean up corruption in Washington, protect and expand voting rights, and restore ethics and integrity to government to ensure Congress is accountable to the people.

According to the Kaiser Foundation in 2018, just 67.8 percent of Illinois' eligible voter population was registered to vote and only 53 percent of Illinois' voter population cast a ballot. Among other critical provisions, the For the People Act would expand automatic voter registration and same day registration, strengthen vote by mail, early voting and access to the ballot and combat voter intimidation and voter suppression, to ensure more Illinoisans are able to make their voices heard at the ballot box.

"As a former reporter, I worked to uncover stories of greed and corruption in government -- and in Congress, one of my top priorities has been to clean up the mess in Washington," said Congresswoman Bustos. "The For the People Act is a transformative investment in good government and would ensure elected officials are accountable to the people -- not special interests and dark money donors.

"I was proud to pass this historic package to protect our democracy against attacks -- both foreign and domestic -- on access to the ballot box, make it easier to vote by establishing automatic voter registration, strengthen ethics laws and end the dominance of big money in our elections."

To fix Washington's broken political system, Congresswoman Bustos first helped shape and introduce this historic package as Co-Chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee in 2018.

Watch Congresswoman Bustos deliver a speech on the House floor in support of the For the People Act in 2019.

The For the People Act would:

Expand automatic voter registration and same day registration to make it easier for people to vote.
Strengthen vote by mail, early voting and ballot access.
Combat voter intimidation and voter suppression.
Protect elections from foreign interference.
Fix partisan gerrymandering.
Promote digital ad transparency.
Force the disclosure of dark money.
Rein in lobbyist influence.
Enforce ethics and conflict of interest rules for all government officials.
Empower small donors with matching funds paid for by lawbreakers, not taxpayers.
View a For the People fact sheet HERE.

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