LOS ANGELES — The For the People Act, a bill that proponents say will combat voter suppression and that opponents criticize as divisive overreach, may have been dealt a death blow earlier this week by one Senate Democrat’s announced refusal to support it. But such celebrities as Leonardo DiCaprio, Sarah Silverman, Kerry Washington, John Legend, Billy Eichner, Common and now Mariah Carey are campaigning for voters to stand up for it.
On Wednesday morning, Carey became the latest on that list to tweet the hashtag #CallOutYourSenators as part of a viral campaign to pressure certain elected representatives into voting for the bill, which has strong support, according to polls (69% in favor, says a May Data for Progress poll). Carey tweeted out boilerplate language many users are including in their supportive messages.
The gotovote.org site contains instructions for downloading graphics and message text tailored to a given state’s senators.
The For the People Act, designated “S.1” (the House version, which passed March 3, is “H.R. 1”), is an ambitious attempt to safeguard voting rights, say Democratic sponsors and other backers. According to the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice, the bill would “curb voter suppression and make it easier for all Americans to register to vote and cast a ballot. It would outlaw partisan gerrymandering of congressional districts. And it would overhaul our campaign finance laws … combat corruption, and make federal campaign spending more transparent.”