It’s coming down to the wire for democracy in the United States. The next insurrection won’t come from crowds trying to breach the halls …
It’s coming down to the wire for democracy in the United States. The next insurrection won’t come from crowds trying to breach the halls of power, but those working within them. Voting rights and election integrity are under assault in several states where Republican legislatures last year enacted an unprecedented number of restrictive laws to suppress voting and undermine elections. More such laws are in the works this year. The best hope for the health and longevity of our democratic institutions is for Congress to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. Together these important bills will protect against the erosion of trust in elections and ensure that American democracy does not perish from the earth. The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would restore and strengthen a provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that required states with a history of racial discrimination in voting to pre-clear changes in election procedures with the U.S. Justice Department or a federal court. And many of the provisions in the Freedom to Vote Act — early voting, vote by mail, automatic voter registration and independent redistricting — have been used successfully in California and other states to strengthen voter participation. More important, it would set standards on basic voter access and stop efforts in states to subvert the election process. But passing this legislation is now looking like an impossible feat. Though congressional Republicans have supported voting rights in the past, they have made it clear they aren’t interested now. They either don’t see the threat from the deluge of restrictions at the state level, or don’t care. Democrats alone have been left with the responsibility to act in defense of democracy.
