In a broadcast from a dystopian future set in 2055, Grammy Award-winning artist Katy Perry and actor Orlando Bloom issue a dire warning for Americans about the future of democracy if Congress does not pass the For The People Act.
Transmissions from the Future, an ad released by leading nonpartisan anti-corruption organization RepresentUs, urges passage of the sweeping voting rights bill, which will be considered by the Senate next week.
“The For the People Act is the single most important piece of legislation of our lifetimes, and 70% of the American people support it. It must pass—or we risk all of the freedoms promised by American democracy,” said actor Orlando Bloom. “No matter what issue you care about, it hinges on the For the People Act’s passage. I am proud to work with RepresentUs to bring attention to this bill at a time when the stakes have never been higher.”
“As we saw most recently in Georgia and Texas, politicians are attacking our freedom to vote through passing laws that make it harder for seniors, veterans, communities of color, and rural voters to cast their ballots. Time is running out to stop their efforts. I urge you to call your Senator immediately and tell them to vote in favor of the For the People Act,” said artist Katy Perry.
You can watch Transmissions from the Future here. The pair is starring for the first time together and donated their time for this project.
“You are our only hope. The America you know doesn’t exist in our future. Democracy is dead. We have no voice,” an older, disheveled Bloom says in the ad, broadcast from the year 2055 to the present, from an underground bunker where he and Perry are attempting to signal back to 2021.
“It started when voter suppression ran wild all over America. The voting rights bills died in the Senate. Polling places closed. We lost our right to vote,” a white-haired and fearful Perry warns Americans in the video.
The For the People Act, the most important anti-corruption bill since Watergate, would put a stop to the 389 anti-voter bills in 48 states that state lawmakers have introduced since March.
The bill would also end partisan gerrymandering, secure and modernize our elections, and halt big money’s control of politics.
The Senate is on track to consider the bill next week. Sen. Joe Manchin, the only Democrat to have not signed onto the bill, is threatening to vote no on the For the People Act – even though 71 percent of his constituents support it. If Manchin doesn’t support this bill, he is siding with the politicians who are attacking our right to vote.
“RepresentUs made this ad because the American people need to know that our democracy is in grave danger. Passing the For the People Act really could be our last shot before the Great American experiment of self-governance fails and we slide into autocracy,” said RepresentUs President Joshua Graham Lynn. “If we don’t act now, we face a future where elections are so rigged, so few people’s votes are counted, billionaires are so in control of our government that the voices of citizens are silenced just like Russia or North Korea.”
RepresentUs asks people to call their senators and demand they pass the For the People Act. The organization is building on the success of more than 120 statewide anti-corruption victories to mobilize millions of its members behind passage of the For the People Act. RepresentUs ["has created an online resource hub ":https://represent.us/putdemocracyfirsthub/?source=header-nav] to help volunteers.
