WASHINGTON (Nexstar) — With the For The People Act, Democrats say they will prioritize protecting and expanding the voting rights of all Americans — and they’ll do whatever it takes to pass this reform bill.
Federal voting reforms are vital because, Democrats say. Since the November 2020 election, Republicans in state legislatures have proposed more than 250 laws making it more difficutl to cast a ballot.
“We’re standing up to voter suppression,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said. “Ask the Georgia legislature why it’s only on Sunday they don’t want to have early voting. It’s to prevent African-Americans from voting. It’s Jim Crow.”
Oregon Democrat Jeff Merkley said the GOP efforts in the states is “making it harder for students, low income Americans, for seniors, for college students, for our Black and Brown Americans to vote.”
Democrats, like Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, say the For The People Act will expand voting access “with same day registration and with making people automatically registered.”
They also want to block the purging of voter rolls, limit dark money and partisan gerrymandering.
But Senate Republicans like Tennessee’s Bill Hagerty say the Constitution requires states run their own elections.
“State legislatures are directly accountable to their people,” Hagerty said, “not bureaucrats in Washington.”
He said his election reform bill will audit the 2020 election and protect the electoral college.
“It’s going to forbid any federal dollars that don’t uphold the Constitution as they administer federal elections,” he said.
Democrats plan to put the For The People Act to a vote. They’re even considering changing Senate rules to pass it because, they say, most Americans — including Republicans — support it.