With mail-in voting underway and early in-person voting coming up in many states, Common Cause today released its 2020 Democracy Scorecard to help voters evaluate the records of their members of Congress.
The 2020 Democracy Scorecard provides data on every current member of the House of Representatives and Senate based on their votes for and co-sponsorship of key democracy reform bills, such as the historic For the People Act (HR 1). If enacted, the reforms would limit the influence of big money in our elections, end gerrymandering, and make it easier and safer to vote.
“What the 2020 Democracy Scorecard makes plain is the blatant disregard for democracy reforms in the Senate,” said Aaron Scherb, director of legislative affairs for Common Cause. “The House of Representatives passed nearly 10 democracy reform bills, often with bipartisan support, this session, but Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked debate and mark-ups on all of these bills and refused to allow a vote.”
“In fact, the Senate’s inaction has the 116th Congress on track to be the least productive in history, with just one percent of the bills becoming law,” said Scherb, author of the 2020 Democracy Scorecard.
To ensure all Members of Congress got a fair evaluation in the 2020 Democracy Scorecard, Common Cause sent each congressional office four letters listing the bills included in this year’s Scorecard to make sure every member of Congress knew which bills he or she was being evaluated on. Since these letters were sent, a combined total of more than 150 cosponsors have been added to these collective bills so voters can know what their Members of Congress are doing to protect our democracy.