FSFP Issues Report Summarizing 2020 Election Protection Work Posted on November 19, 2020 (November 19, 2020) Election Protection Free Speech For People served as a leading force in the country this year in fighting to defend and expand voting rights and to protect the November election. The following is a summary of our key accomplishments in this field. They include: 1. Extending the voter registration deadline in Arizona FSFP filed federal lawsuits inRead More
FSFP Unveils New Interactive Map To Highlight Critical Victories For Our Democracy. Posted on November 17, 2020 (November 20, 2020) FSFP Updates Free Speech For People recently unveiled a new interactive map to highlight the organization’s decade of work to secure critical victories for our democracy. Map Tips: To read about our work in a certain location, click the icon. To zoom in or out, click the plus or minus sign on the bottom left-hand corner ofRead More
Statement on the Supreme Court’s denial of certiorari in Lieu v. Federal Election Commission. Posted on November 9, 2020 Challenging Super PACs This morning, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an order denying certiorari review in Lieu v. Federal Election Commission, the case to end super PACs. This case–launched in November 2016 by Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Cal.), the late Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.), Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Or.), and three congressional candidates from both major parties–was a bipartisan effortRead More
Progressive Organizations Hold Pro-democracy “#CountEveryVote” Events Across the Nation Posted on November 4, 2020 (November 4, 2020) Election Protection Washington, D.C. – Today, a network of national and local organizations are holding #CountEveryVote events across the nation as a show of confidence by the American people in our democracy. Events will take place in Philadelphia, Chicago, New York City, Washington, D.C., Oakland, San Francisco, Kenosha, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Eugene, Portland, Seattle,Read More
FSFP Senior Counsel Courtney Hostetler Discusses Money in Politics and Foreign Influence in U.S. Elections on The Jason Rigden Show. Posted on November 3, 2020 (January 8, 2021) Challenging Super PACs FSFP Senior Counsel Courtney Hostetler recently appeared on The Jason Rigden Show to discuss money in politics and foreign influence in U.S. elections. “Super PACs are these giant independent expenditure committees that are allowed to take in unlimited contributions and spend unlimited amounts of money on campaigns. And the reason they can do this isRead More
Voting Rights Advocates Condemn Court Ruling to Exempt Polling Places from Statewide Mask Mandate Posted on October 30, 2020 (November 20, 2020) Election Protection Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issues order staying the district court’s ruling which had required all voters, poll workers and poll watchers to wear masks. SAN ANTONIO, TX (October 30, 2020) – Days after a federal court in San Antonio, Texas issued a ruling to require all voters, poll workers and poll watchers to wearRead More
FSFP Board Chair Ben Clements and President John Bonifaz Discuss Voting Rights with Acclaimed Broadcast Journalist Bill Moyers. Posted on October 30, 2020 Election Protection FSFP Board Chair Ben Clements and President John Bonifaz recently appeared on Moyers On Democracy with veteran broadcast journalist Bill Moyers to discuss voting rights in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and threats of voter suppression and voter intimidation. During the discussion, both guests spoke to the unprecedented nature of this historic election andRead More
Voting rights organizations express profound disagreement with judge’s decision to deny relief in voter intimidation lawsuit against President Trump Posted on October 30, 2020 Election Protection Washington, D.C. (Oct. 30, 2020)– Senior Judge Richard Leon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia denied a motion for a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction, and declaratory judgment filed by Free Speech For People on behalf of Mi Familia Vota Education Fund and two individual plaintiffs against President Trump, Attorney GeneralRead More
CAIR-MN, LWV Welcome Federal Court’s Halt to Planned Voter Intimidation in Minnesota Posted on October 29, 2020 (November 9, 2020) Election Protection Order Issued Against Private Mercenary Company and Its Chairman MINNEAPOLIS—Today, a federal district court judge ruled in favor of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) and the League of Women Voters of Minnesota, granting a preliminary injunction in a move that prohibits private mercenary contractor Atlas Aegis and its chairman Anthony Caudle from moving forward with its illegalRead More
FEDERAL COURT IN TEXAS REQUIRES ALL VOTERS AND POLL WORKERS TO WEAR MASKS AT THE POLLS Posted on October 28, 2020 (October 28, 2020) Election Protection Texas Governor’s Exemption for Polling Places From the Statewide Mask Mandate is Declared ‘Invalid and Void’ Voting Rights Advocates Celebrate ‘Major Victory for Democracy’ SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – A federal court in San Antonio, Texas issued a ruling last night requiring that all voters, poll workers, and poll watchers wear masks at the polls throughoutRead More