Voting Rights and Election Security
The bedrock of American democracy is our right to vote in fair and open elections. As Chair of the House Administration Committee, Zoe helps oversee U.S. federal elections to ensure every citizen’s vote is counted equally, and that our system of government remains the true representative democracy our founders intended.
Zoe is a member of the Congressional Task Force on Election Security, formed to address the lack of action to protect electoral infrastructure following Russia's interference and attempts to influence the 2016 Presidential election. According to the Department of Homeland Security, the election systems in 21 states were breached and voter records containing personal information were compromised. Despite this, there has been no action from the Republican Congress or the Trump Administration to provide greater protection to our election systems.
When a sovereign nation meddles in our elections, it is an attack on our country. We cannot leave states to defend against the sophisticated cyber tactics of state actors on their own.
In June, 2019, the U.S. House passed H.R. 2722, the Securing America's Federal Elections (SAFE) Act, legislation Zoe authored which would make meaningful investments to upgrade the security of voting systems across the country to guard against foreign interference in our democracy.
Following passage of the SAFE Act, Zoe delivered the Democratic Weekly Address to urge the Senate to pass this critical elections security legislation.
A Message from Zoe on Citizens United
I support campaign finance reform and believe that the Supreme Court ignored judicial precedent and common sense in the Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission ruling.
I have added my name as a cosponsor to H. J. Res. 48, the “We the People Amendment”; H. J. Res. 2, the “Democracy for All Amendment”; and H. J. Res. 57.
A bill is the starting point of the legislative process.
By adding my name as a cosponsor to these resolutions proposing constitutional amendments to mitigate the effects of the Citizens United decision I hope to move the conversation on campaign finance reform forward as Congress debates the best way address this issue.
H.R. 1, The For The People Act
As Chair of the House Administration Committee, Zoe was tapped to shepherd H.R. 1, The For the People Act, through the legislative process, culminating with its House passage in March. The Democrats’ landmark legislation is a sweeping package of pro-democracy and anticorruption reforms to put power back in the hands of the American people by ending the dominance of big money in politics; making it easier, not harder, to vote; and ensuring that politicians actually serve the public interest.
H.R. 1 offers the most transformational and comprehensive democracy reforms in more than four decades, following through on Democrats’ election promise to clean up the chaos and corruption in Washington. You can learn more about H.R. 1 HERE.
More on Voting Rights and Election Security
Washington, D.C.—On the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that allows partisan gerrymandering in federal elections to continue, U.S. Reps. Zoe Lofgren (CA-19), Alan Lowenthal (CA-47), and Julia Brownley (CA-26) were joined by the majority of the California Democratic Delegation in introducing legislation to reform the nation’s patchwork redistricting system.
A House panel on Friday backed legislation to improve election security ahead of next year’s contests as Democrats press for shoring up the nation’s voting system after Russia interfered in the 2016 election.
On a party-line vote of 6 to 3, the House Administration Committee endorsed the Securing America’s Federal Elections (SAFE) Act of 2019, whose provisions would include mandating paper ballots that could be verified, providing $600 million in grant money to update voting equipment and establishing cybersecurity requirements for elections.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Democratic lawmakers led by U.S. Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.), Julia Brownley (D-Calif.), and John P. Sarbanes (D-Md.) introduced legislation today to end partisan gerrymandering and reform the nation's patchwork redistricting system.
Today Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), a senior Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee and House Committee on Administration, released the following statement in response to the Supreme Court's ruling on the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The landmark law, renewed four times since enactment, most recently in 2006, protects voter's rights from intimidation or discrimination by requiring selected districts and states to gain federal preclearance before changing voting procedures or qualifications: