Washington, D.C. – Congressman Kevin Mullin (CA-15), newly appointed member of the Task Force on Strengthening Democracy, joined Task Force Co-Chair Congressman John Sarbanes (MD-03), Congressman Joe Morelle (NY-25), Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (CA-11), and stakeholders to call for the swift passage of the Freedom to Vote Act.

The Freedom to Vote Act ensures all Americans can vote in secure, accessible, transparent elections. It protects the right to vote, supports local election workers, bans dark money, and ends partisan gerrymandering so that our democracy works for the people. A legislative summary of the bill can be found here.

While serving in the California Assembly, Congressman Mullin championed elections and democracy reforms, including the first-in-the-nation DISCLOSE Act, which required the disclosure of dark money contributions in political ads in California.

You can watch the full video here. A full transcript of remarks can be found below:

Thank you so much Jennifer.

Kevin Mullin from the 15^th congressional district in California, the San Francisco Bay Area.

I am incredibly proud to be here today.

I want to thank Congressman Sarbanes and all the members of the Task Force on

Strengthening Democracy for their stellar leadership on this issue.

Civic engagement, election reform, and voting rights go to the very heart of our democracy.

I am excited to continue the work on these critical issues as a member of the task force and

as a cosponsor of H.R.11.

As the author of California’s first-in-the-nation DISCLOSE Act- which required the

disclosure of dark money contributions in political ads in my home state- as well as the

Social Media DISCLOSE Act- now law in California- I am pleased that H.R.11 addresses these critical issues at the federal level.

The right to vote is a fundamental principle of our democracy. At a time when some

states are attempting to gut voting rights and make it harder for people to engage in the

political process, H.R.11 will strengthen the rights of voters and will protect our democracy.

California has implemented many of the goals outlined in H.R.11 and I look forward to

working with my colleagues from across the country to make certain that voters nationwide have access to early voting, the ability to vote by mail consistently, and that same-day voter registration is available.

Let’s make sure their voice is heard and they exercise their right to vote.

Now, it is my honor to bring up someone who knows all about California’s efforts on

democracy, a former colleague from the legislature, and now a member so ably

representing the Inland Empire in the House, Congresswoman Norma Torres.