In a Feb. 16 op-ed published in Florida Politics, Democratic Rep. Anna Eskamani discusses the For the People Act and explains why democracy reform is good for Floridians.

Eskamani pointed to Amendment 4, which was subsequently gutted by Republican state lawmakers soon after its passage in 2018, and the surge in voter suppression in Florida in the 2020 elections, as recent evidence of Florida conservative lawmakers’ continued attempts to disenfranchise its citizens. The For the People Act, she continues, would restore power to the people of Florida and the country as a whole.

Eskamani writes:

The For the People Act modernizes and secures our voting systems at every level to protect the fundamental right to vote. It would end tactics like drastic purges of voter rolls, discriminatory voter ID laws, and racial gerrymandering. It would improve access with automatic voter registration and expanded vote-by-mail options. And it would do everywhere what Floridians have clearly said is the right thing to do: ensure that people who have done their time for serious crimes have their full rights restored as returning citizens.

And the timing could not be more apt. Especially after the violent insurrection at The Capitol, when we all watched in horror as a violent mob tried and failed to upend our democratic system of government, Americans are hungry for our elected officials to do good and useful work for us in Washington. First, we have to stop the bleeding, with strong COVID relief that is in the works; then we start the rebuilding, which is what the For the People Act will be all about when it comes up in a few weeks.

So, I’m urging all of our representatives in Congress to do something good not just for Florida but for all Americans by supporting this bill. Our democracy has been through a lot lately, but it is still standing, and it can be built back stronger and better than ever. Let’s take this once-in-a-generation opportunity to make that a reality.

Read the op-ed in full here.