Voting and Elections
Throughout his career in Congress, Rep. Larson has continually fought for free and fair elections for the American people, fighting to end the influence of big money in politics.
Following the disastrous Citizens United decision, Rep. Larson was appointed by then-Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi to chair the Task Force on Election Reform. Together, this taskforce crafted a package of bills to address campaign finance and voter empowerment. This work laid the groundwork for the For the People Act, a comprehensive election and campaign finance reform bill that would create a small dollar matching program, end partisan gerrymandering nationally, provide funding and standards for election security, and guarantee access to mail in and early voting, and the Freedom to Vote Act which both passed the House in 2019, 2021, and 2022, before being filibustered by Senate Republicans. As President Trump, Congressional Republicans, GOP state governments, and conservative courts continue to wage a war on voter access, Rep. Larson is standing up to defend this sacred right.
Standing up to Trump's Attacks on Democracy
Rep. Larson believes we must take action to protect our democracy in the face of attacks from mob rule, foreign nations and a president seeking to impose authoritarian rule.
In April, he strongly opposed the SAVE Act, which would make it harder for Americans without passports, military service members, and married women to register to vote. The SAVE Act would force the 34.9% of Connecticut residents who do not have passports to pay over $152 million in passport fees and will create new voting barriers for the 747,439 Connecticut women with a name that does not match their birth certificate.
As the Trump Administration continues to pressure Republican-led states to pass new Congressional maps diluting the voices of Black and Hispanic voters, Rep. Larson is taking action and led Texas, California, and North Carolina Democratic leaders to introduce the Redistricting Reform Act. This bill would ban mid-decade redistricting efforts and require states to establish independent redistricting commissions so that opportunistic gerrymandering cannot further harm our elections. Rep. Larson is leading the Voter Purge Protection Act which would prevent states from improperly eliminating a voter’s registration.
Following the attempted insurrection instigated by President Trump after the 2020 election, Rep. Larson voted to pass of the Electoral Count Act in 2023. This bill overhauled the Electoral College vote process to ensure the will of the people cannot be subverted by those who want to alter the outcome of an election.
Defending Democracy and Empowering Voters
Republican attacks on the ballot box are just the latest efforts in a long campaign to restrict the right to vote. In a direct response to the Supreme Court decision undermining of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Rep. Larson helped introduce the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would restore and enhance Americans’ protections from discriminatory voting laws that seek to disenfranchise them.
Getting Big Money Out of Politics
In 2008, even before the Citizens United decision, Rep. Larson was focused on the the corrosive influence of money in politics, which is why he introduced the Fair Elections Now Act (FENA). Modeled after Connecticut’s successful Citizens Election Program, this legislation would create a voluntary small dollar donation program for federal elections. This legislation gathered 165 cosponsors and passed the House Administration Committee in 2010, at the time, the furthest any small dollar matching policy had advanced. The Fair Elections Now Act was ultimately included in the For the People Act when it passed the House in 2019 and 2021.
Rep. Larson supports a constitutional amendment to reverse Citizens United and allow for common sense campaign finance laws to end dark money and limit large contributions.
More on Voting and Elections
East Hartford, CT – Today, Rep. John B. Larson (CT-01) released the following statement on Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi’s retirement announcement.
East Hartford, CT – Today, Rep. John B. Larson (CT-01) released the following statement on the passing of former Vice President Dick Cheney.
U.S. Rep. John B. Larson said he has cosponsored a bill that would bar members of Congress from owning, buying or selling stocks.
He’s backing the Restore Trust in Congress Act, which would prohibit not only members, but their spouses, dependent children and trustees from owning, buying or selling individual stocks, securities, commodities, futures and other comparable assets.
Washington, D.C. - Today, Rep. John B. Larson (CT-01) cosponsored the bipartisan Restore Trust in Congress Act, which would bar Members of Congress from owning, buying, or selling stocks. Larson has long been an advocate for a Congressional stock trading ban.
East Hartford, CT - Today, Rep. John B. Larson (CT-01) released the following statement after U. S. Capitol Police arrested a visitor with a lighter and a flare gun at the Capitol Visitor Center.
Washington, D.C. – Today, on National Voter Registration Day, Rep. John B. Larson (CT-01) joined every House Democrat in introducing H.R. 14, the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. The bill would protect the right to vote and safeguard our democracy by restoring and modernizing the full protections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA). Ten years ago, the Supreme Court gutted the VRA and unleashed a wave of discriminatory state laws targeting voters and restricting voting access.