As we think back on 2020, we can recall many concerning ways that people were shut out of the election process. Many of our elected representatives heard these concerns and introduced H.R.1, the “For the People Act,” in the House of Representatives. H.R.1 addresses many of the concerns we heard about — or raised ourselves.

H.R.1 fights big money in politics by limiting the power of super political action committees and ensuring access to the polls. It also creates a publicly financed matching system to build the power of small donors in our elections.

Under our current system, small donors don’t have much of a chance to influence the outcome of elections. But communities with matching programs have seen transformative results. When Seattle adopted a matching program, they increased the age, gender, income and racial diversity, as well as the overall number, of campaign donors.

In Iowa, a matching system could help independent family farmers and everyday people with groups like Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement as we fight the influence of Big Ag and the Farm Bureau.

Knowing how H.R.1 can help our election system nationwide, contact your congressional representative and ask for their support and their vote.

Letter writer Barbara Kalbach is a community member.