By Stacy M., Brown, NNPA Newwire National Correspondent@StacyBrownMedia
State lawmakers in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, and other jurisdictions who continue to enact local voter suppression laws were put on notice by Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives who passed a sweeping elections and ethics bill on Wednesday.
House Resolution 1 – the “For the People Act of 2021” – counts as a strong rebuke and counterbalance to voting restrictions considered or enacted in various Republican-led states across the country. It restricts partisan gerrymandering of congressional districts and nullifies obstacles for voters.
Further, the bill demands campaign finance clarity.
Top Democrats said the bill focuses on stopping corruption, expanding voting access, and improving accountability.
“Our purpose was to remove obstacles of participation for Democrats or Republicans,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared. “That is what the law requires. That was the right thing to do. That’s what this legislation does.”
The bill’s passage, which now heads to the Democrat-controlled Senate, comes as the Supreme Court is poised to rule on two election rules from Arizona that could impose even more limits on the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
The cases involve the return of absentee ballots and out-of-precinct provisional ballots.
Democrats and others believe that if the court sides with Arizona Republicans, it would dismantle another Voting Rights Act section.
GOP lawmakers in Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Michigan have all pushed for laws that would disproportionately impact voting rights, particularly those of African Americans.
According to the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University, state lawmakers across the U.S. have filed more than 200 bills in 43 states that would limit ballot access.
Two pieces of legislation making their way to the state Senate in Georgia would restrict voting access by ending automatic voter registration, banning drop boxes for mail-in ballots, and eliminate much of the state’s absentee voting.
Legislation in the Peach State would also significantly reduce early voting on weekends and essentially halt the “Souls to the Polls’ movement, a tradition for Black voters after leaving church on Sundays.
Many view that effort as a response to President Joe Biden winning Georgia in 2020 and Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff – both Democrats – capturing the Senate.
The U.S. House’s “For the People Act of 2021” automatically registers voters and provides voting rights to felons.
It also mandates more than two weeks of early voting, offers voting-by-mail, and expands absentee ballot drop boxes all over the country.
Speaker Pelosi and other Democrats have repeatedly shot down false claims by Republicans – particularly former President Donald Trump – of widespread voter fraud.
They’ve noted that Trump and the GOP have targeted African American voters, ramping up rhetoric about fraud and conspiracy theories, specifically in heavily populated Black areas like Atlanta and Fulton County, Georgia, Detroit, Michigan, and in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Regardless of political affiliation, voting should be easily accessible, Speaker Pelosi stated.
