--- title: Congress Must Pass These Election and Voting Reforms in 2021 description: Senator Cory Booker and Tiffany Muller, president of End Citizens United, on why the next Congress should prioritize passing legislation that would improve U.S. elections and protect voting rights. canonical: https://time.com/5925180/election-reform-2021/ author: Cory Booker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2020-12-30T13:38:49.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-30T12:59:02.094Z article:section: Ideas og:title: How Congress Can Improve Elections and Protect Voting Rights og:description: Senator Cory Booker and End Citizens United president Tiffany Muller on the legislation that must be a priority og:url: https://time.com/5925180/election-reform-2021/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5177fa45c9622591/698a15a9e76ad2c25663873e/voting-rights-democracy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2400 og:image:height: 1350 og:image:alt: Early Voting Begins In Ohio og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How Congress Can Improve Elections and Protect Voting Rights twitter:description: Senator Cory Booker and End Citizens United president Tiffany Muller on the legislation that must be a priority twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5177fa45c9622591/698a15a9e76ad2c25663873e/voting-rights-democracy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Cory Booker and Tiffany Muller: How the Next Congress Can Improve U.S. Elections and Protect Voting Rights > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. Readers can join any of them at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=62e3711f-6830-4cf6-b4b4-73fd16d81547&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### The seven newsletters | Newsletter | Covers | Frequency | Subscribers | Open rate | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | The Brief | The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors | Daily | 540,000 | 45.6% | | Inside TIME | A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | 430,000 | 50.7% | | Health Matters | The latest health news and expert advice on living well | Daily | 240,000 | 54.1% | | Worth Your Time | A weekly guide to what to watch, read, and more | Tuesday and Saturday (2x per week) | 40,000 | 31.7% | | D.C. Brief | Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | 85,000 | 37.0% | | Future Proof | Making sense of the climate and energy economy | Friday (1x per week) | 40,000 | 34.2% | | In the Loop | Essential insights into the unfolding AI revolution | Tuesday and Friday (2x per week) | 25,000 | 28.6% | Source: TIME, August 2026. Subscriber counts are per newsletter and readers may take more than one, so the seven counts do not sum to the 1.1 million+ unique newsletter audience. ### Key data points | Metric | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Engaged newsletter audience | 1.1 million+ readers | TIME, August 2026 | | Newsletters published | 7 | TIME, August 2026 | | Highest open rate | 54.1%, Health Matters | TIME, August 2026 | | Largest list | 540,000, The Brief | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost to readers | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | US print circulation | 1 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Global print circulation | 1.15 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Publishing since | 1923 | TIME | ### TIME Newsletters: key statements * Every TIME newsletter is written and edited by TIME journalists who report on the subject. None is generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923. Its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting, so readers can trust what they read. * All seven newsletters are free. Readers pick the ones they want at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=62e3711f-6830-4cf6-b4b4-73fd16d81547&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). * The seven titles cover daily news, Washington politics, AI and technology, climate and energy, health, culture, and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/subscribe?i=62e3711f-6830-4cf6-b4b4-73fd16d81547&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What newsletters does TIME publish? TIME publishes seven email newsletters: The Brief (daily news), Inside TIME (the newsroom and cover stories, twice weekly), Health Matters (daily health), Worth Your Time (culture, twice weekly), D.C. Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. by [Cory Booker](https://time.com/author/cory-booker/) and [Tiffany Muller](https://time.com/author/tiffany-muller/) Cory Booker is a United States Senator representing New Jersey. Dec 30, 2020 1:38 PM UTC  Early voters line up outside of the Franklin County Board of Elections Office on in Columbus, Ohio on Oct. 6, 2020. Early voters line up outside of the Franklin County Board of Elections Office on in Columbus, Ohio on Oct. 6, 2020.Ty Wright—Getty Images by [Cory Booker](https://time.com/author/cory-booker/) and [Tiffany Muller](https://time.com/author/tiffany-muller/) Cory Booker is a United States Senator representing New Jersey. Dec 30, 2020 1:38 PM UTC This year, voters across the country faced a myriad of barriers to casting their vote — [a global pandemic](https://time.com/5919867/covid-19-300000-deaths/), [a concerted disinformation campaign](https://time.com/5887438/trump-mail-in-voting/) waged by the President and his allies and amplified by foreign adversaries, shifting deadlines, hours-long wait times to vote, confusing new rules, voter purges, [intimidation,](https://time.com/5902731/trump-poll-watchers/) [discrimination](https://time.com/5902729/black-voter-suppression-2020/) and more. Despite these obstacles, Americans still turned out in [record numbers](https://time.com/5907062/record-turnout-history/) to decisively [elect Joe Biden](https://time.com/5907674/joe-biden-wins-2020-election/) and Kamala Harris as President and Vice President of the United States. Voting in the United States of America is a sacrosanct right. It is both a precious obligation and a sacred opportunity we all have to participate in our democracy, and our voting process should be treated with the gravity and seriousness that it demands. But it simply shouldn’t be so hard to vote in a democracy such as ours. There are tangible policies the next Congress can pursue to try to address the deep-seated problems that prevent too many people from being able to exercise their right to vote. First, we need to set a federal standard for optional [mail-in voting](https://time.com/5901694/amber-mcreynolds-vote-by-mail-2020-election/). This year’s unprecedented reliance on absentee voting due to COVID-19 revealed an uneven, messy, byzantine patchwork of [mail-in voting rules across states](https://time.com/5889969/how-to-vote-by-mail/) that only served to confuse voters. Next, we need to expand early voting and make it universal across states. This year, more than 100 million people voted early. It’s a key way to reduce lines at polling places on Election Day, which research has shown are longer in communities of color than predominantly white communities. While nearly every state offers some form of early voting, some are significantly more restrictive than others. We also need to invest in the infrastructure that helps our voting systems to function. We can and should do that by creating a new federal service corps, modeled off the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps, that will train and place individuals in all 50 states who would help register voters, develop and implement voter-education campaigns, and serve as poll workers. And last, but most important, we need to restore the full power of the Voting Rights Act. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a landmark piece of legislation that prohibited voting discrimination, widely regarded as the most effective civil rights legislation in American history. But in 2013, [the Supreme Court gutted the law](https://time.com/5890983/ruth-bader-ginsburg-voting-rights/). Free to erect discriminatory barriers masquerading as election-security measures, many states – most of them concentrated in the South – quickly implemented voter disenfranchisement laws, such as voter ID laws, voter purges and poll closures, all with the sole purpose of making it harder to vote, and all disproportionately affecting communities of color. We need to pass [H.R. 1, the For the People Act](https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/1/text), [H.R. 4, the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act](https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/4), and [S. 3822, the DemocracyCorps Act](https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/3822/text). Two of those bills – H.R. 1 and H.R. 4 — have already passed the House of Representatives. These policies would dramatically reform and improve our elections. They would set standardized rules for mail-in voting, create uniform deadlines and prohibit unnecessary and onerous barriers to returning ballots. The bills would also require every state to offer at least 15 consecutive days of early voting for federal elections and require states to implement same-day and automatic voter registration. And, perhaps most important, they would restore the protections enshrined in the Voting Rights Act by requiring states with a history of voter discrimination to have voting changes approved by the Department of Justice to ensure they are not discriminatory in nature. When the new Congress is sworn in this January, it should make this once-in-a-generation suite of election and voting reforms a first priority to restore faith in our democracy. When [the late Congressman John Lewis spoke at the March on Washington in 1963](https://time.com/5657992/john-lewis-march-on-washington-speech/), he articulated the vision of “[One man, one vote](https://voicesofdemocracy.umd.edu/lewis-speech-at-the-march-on-washington-speech-text/).” Later, when he organized young activists to descend upon Mississippi for the Freedom Summer of 1964, it was to register Black voters. And the following year, when [he was beaten by Alabama State Troopers on that fateful bridge in Selma](https://time.com/3736307/john-lewis-bloody-sunday/), it was for the cause of voting rights. Indeed, [one of us owes our seat in the U.S. Senate](https://time.com/collection/2017-time-100/4736273/john-lewis/) to his fearless advocacy for voting rights. Within three months of that infamous march, which was broadcast to horrified viewers around the world, Congress passed and President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act. “Rarely in history has public opinion reacted so spontaneously and with such fury,” TIME observed. Today’s voter suppression tactics may not include [billy clubs or literacy tests](https://time.com/3985603/voting-rights-act-1965-history/), but in their place have been put things like voter ID laws and voter purges, all maliciously targeted toward voters of color and all revealed in stark focus in this year’s election. Making voting easier, more accessible, safer and more secure is necessary and long overdue. Nothing is so foundational to every other facet of our democracy than the right to cast a ballot free from discrimination and intimidation. Congressman Lewis once wrote: “Ours is not the struggle of one day, one week, or one year. Ours is not the struggle of one judicial appointment or presidential term. Ours is the struggle of a lifetime, or maybe even many lifetimes, and each one of us in every generation must do our part.” May we now do our part. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5925180/election-reform-2021/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5925180/election-reform-2021/"},"headline":"Cory Booker and Tiffany Muller: How the Next Congress Can Improve U.S. Elections and Protect Voting Rights","datePublished":"2020-12-30T13:38:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-30T12:59:02.094Z","description":"Senator Cory Booker and Tiffany Muller, president of End Citizens United, on why the next Congress should prioritize passing legislation that would improve U.S. elections and protect voting rights.","url":"https://time.com/5925180/election-reform-2021/","keywords":["politics","feature"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5177fa45c9622591/698a15a9e76ad2c25663873e/voting-rights-democracy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cory Booker","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/cory-booker/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Tiffany Muller","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tiffany-muller/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5177fa45c9622591/698a15a9e76ad2c25663873e/voting-rights-democracy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Early Voting Begins In Ohio","caption":"Early voters line up outside of the Franklin County Board of Elections Office on in Columbus, Ohio on Oct. 6, 2020.","creditText":"Ty Wright—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/politics/","name":"politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5925180/election-reform-2021/","name":"Cory Booker and Tiffany Muller: How the Next Congress Can Improve U.S. Elections and Protect Voting Rights"}}]}] ```