A Majority of Americans Support Fixing the Filibuster to Pass the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act
By Adam Eichen and Kevin Rissmiller
As the Senate debates the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act (FTVJLA) this week, a new poll from Data for Progress on behalf of Equal Citizens and Un-PAC finds widespread support not only for the bill itself, but also for Democrats’ plan to alter the Senate rules to allow the FTVJLA to pass with a simple majority vote.
Sixty-three percent of likely voters expressed support for the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act, including 82 percent of Democrats, 62 percent of Independents, and 42 percent of Republicans. Only 25 percent of respondents signaled opposition to the bill. These results lend credibility to the Democrats’ claim that the FTVJLA has widespread, bipartisan support across the nation.
The new poll likewise finds that when voters are presented with a choice between preserving the filibuster or passing the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act, a majority of voters prefer passing the bill.
Fifty-three percent of likely voters support altering the Senate’s 60-vote threshold to pass the FTVJLA with a simple majority, with strong support from both Democrats and Independents. Only 35 percent of likely voters expressed a preference for keeping the filibuster rule over passing the bill.
Our democracy is in crisis. States across the country are working to undermine the right to vote and make it harder for Americans to have their voices heard. Just in 2021, 19 states adopted a total of 34 laws that restrict access to the ballot. More anti-voter legislation is expected to pass in 2022.
The Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act would thwart the bulk of these undemocratic laws by setting new national standards for ballot access, banning partisan congressional gerrymandering, preventing efforts to subvert election results, reducing the role of big money in our politics, and restoring and updating key provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
Once this week’s debate in the Senate runs its course, Americans are ready for Senate Democrats to act in a unified manner to fix the filibuster and pass the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act. Should Democratic Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin — the remaining filibuster holdouts — refuse to act to protect our democracy, they would be doing so in direct opposition to the views of the American electorate.
So as the nation turns its focus to the Senate floor this week, the American people have picked a side: democracy. The only question that remains is whether the Senate will listen and do what’s necessary to preserve our republic.
Toplines can be found here.
Adam Eichen is Executive Director of Equal Citizens.
Kevin Rissmiller is a research fellow at Equal Citizens.
From January 14 to 18, 2022, Data for Progress conducted a survey of 1,282 likely voters nationally using web panel respondents. The sample was weighted to be representative of likely voters by age, gender, education, race, and voting history. The survey was conducted in English. The margin of error is ±3 percentage points.