There are two things necessary to sustain a democracy - the rule of law and citizen voting. Of those two, the one most important is the ability of every citizen to be able to exercise their right to vote. Without the right to vote, even the rule of law would soon disappear. Because this is true, one would expect Congress to make voting easier for all citizens.
But that is not happening. Republican legislatures across the country are doing just the opposite. They are making it harder to vote, using the excuse of preventing election fraud. The ignore the fact that there is virtually no fraud in U.S. elections. The real reason is to minimize the number of people who can vote (especially minorities and younger voters) in the hope that with a smaller voting population, they think they'll be able to achieve and retain power.
To combat these efforts at voter suppression, a bill is in Congress (the Freedom To Vote Act). This bill would make it easier for every citizens to exercise his/her right to vote while protecting against voter fraud. But sadly, the Republicans in Congress don't want to make it easier for citizens to vote. The Senate Republicans just voted unanimously to keep a filibuster against the voting rights bill. It is just one more example of why the filibuster (which is not in the Constitution) must be eliminated.
The following is part of an op-ed at MSNBC.com by Jessica Levinson on this issue:
Our democracy is based on the fundamental principle that all eligible citizens must have access to the ballot box and that each of those votes be given equal weight. A representative system of government lacks legitimacy if it fails to allow its citizens to pick who represents them. Why should we give any credence to the decisions of a president, a senator or a member of the House who got the job through a farcical election that blocked some from voting? Or, to put it another way: If our elected officials rigged the system and suppressed our votes to get or keep their gigs, why should we give them any authority?
This is why we must all turn to Wednesday’s failed attempt to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and make its eventual passage our first, second, third and fourth priorities. You don’t build a house until you have the blueprints. You don’t build a democracy without ensuring the right to vote.
Every single Republican in the Senate voted against even having a debate about the Freedom to Vote Act, which is already a compromised and whittled-down version of its former self. Again for the folks in back: Every single member of the Republican Party who serves in our nation’s top legislative chamber is a big “no” on even discussing ways to protect the right to vote. This is partisanship at its absolute worst. This is the epitome of party before country. . . .
We don’t need new restrictive state laws to protect our right to vote. We need new federal legislation to protect us from the restrictive voting laws.
Enter the Freedom to Vote Act.
It would push back against some state efforts to make voting less accessible. The bill tackles the twin problems of voter suppression and the influence of money in politics. With respect to voting rights, the bill would, among other things, implement automatic and same-day voter registration (allowing people to opt out, instead of making them opt in), make it easier to vote by mail, increase early voting, lessen the impact of some restrictive voter identification laws, make Election Day a federal holiday, increase punishments for those who engage in voting intimidation, and attempt to reduce partisan gerrymandering. As to the issue of money in politics, the bill would create a voluntary system of public campaign financing, increase campaign finance disclosure and reorganize the dysfunctional Federal Election Commission. . . .
It is time for voters to demand that their elected officials explain why we shouldn’t even proceed with a vote on the Freedom to Vote Act. We must ask our elected officials which provisions, specifically, they oppose and why. Why, for instance, should we not make it easier for people to register to vote and then give them more options for how and when to vote? We know these reforms don’t threaten the safety and integrity of our elections. Could it simply be that these reforms threaten the continued viability of Republicans?
There are so many deeply and immediately pressing issues facing our country. But for this moment, we must focus on the foundational one. By definition, the seed of our democracy is the right to vote. The right to vote is the right that leads to everything else we care about: a strong economy, an end to the pandemic, accessible health care and superior education.
Democrats control the White House, the House and the Senate. This is a once-in-a-generation moment. Democrats, abolish the filibuster. Pass true voting rights protections. Ensure that our grand experiment in self-governance continues. It is not a foregone conclusion that it will.
