In the wake of Donald Trump’s repeated false claims of a stolen 2020 election, Republican-controlled statehouses across the country have imposed new restrictions on voting.
Spurred on by lies by Trump and his allies, state lawmakers across the U.S. have filed more than 200 bills in 43 states that would limit ballot access, according to a tally kept by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University.In response to this assault on voting rights, House Democrats passed sweeping voting legislation over unanimous Republican opposition on March 3.
The bill advancing to the Senate would be the largest overhaul of the U.S. election law in at least a generation.
House Resolution 1, the For the People Act of 2021, would restrict partisan gerrymandering of congressional districts, strike down hurdles to voting and bring transparency to a questionable campaign finance system that allows wealthy donors to anonymously bankroll political causes.
The bill is an urgently needed counter to voting rights restrictions advanced by Republicans. Yet it faces an uncertain fate in the Democratic-controlled Senate, where it has little chance of passing without changes to procedural rules that currently allow Republicans to block it.
This bill “will put a stop at the voter suppression that we’re seeing debated right now,” said Rep. Nikema Williams, who represents the Georgia district that deceased voting rights champion John Lewis held for years. “This bill is the ‘Good Trouble’ he fought for his entire life.”
In a statement, Biden said he looked forward to refining the measure and hoped to sign it into law, calling it “landmark legislation” that is much needed “to repair and strengthen our democracy.”
Instead of working to win the hearts and minds of potential voters, Republicans have focused on eliminating rules and policies that result in higher turnout, most notably among minorities.
The measure has taken on added urgency in the wake of Trump’s false claims, which incited the deadly storming of the U.S. Capitol in January.
Republicans have taken several actions to restrict voting.
For example, in Iowa, the legislature voted to cut absentee and in-person early voting, while preventing local election officials from setting up additional locations to make early voting easier. In Georgia, the House voted for legislation requiring identification to vote by mail that would also allow counties to cancel early in-person voting on Sundays, when many Black voters cast ballots after church.
On March 2, the Supreme Court appeared ready to uphold voting restrictions in Arizona, which could make it harder to challenge state election laws in the future.
Some Republicans are blunt about their intentions. When asked why proponents sought to uphold the Arizona laws, which limit who can turn in absentee ballots and enable ballots to be thrown out if they are cast in the wrong precinct, a lawyer for the state’s Republican Party was stunningly clear.
“Because it puts us at a competitive disadvantage relative to Democrats,” said attorney Michael Carvin. “Politics is a zero-sum game.”
Republicans “are not even being coy about it. They are saying the ‘quiet parts’ out loud,” said Tiffany Muller, the president of End Citizens United, a group that aims to curtail the influence of corporate money in politics. Her organization has launched a $10 million effort supporting the House bill. “For them, this isn’t about protecting our democracy or protecting our elections. This is about pure partisan political gain.”
Voters must urge lawmakers to pass legislation removing new restrictions on voting.
(Reprinted from the Philadelphia Tribune)
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