House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and other top Democrats have made it clear that election reform is a top priority on Capitol Hill.
With Republicans united in opposition to the so-called “For the People Act,” however, her chances for pushing the bill through Congress appear all but nonexistent.
“Taking the power to redistrict away from state legislators”
Progressive lawmakers have championed HR1, which critics on the right say would limit the ability of states to impose restrictions and safeguards such as voter identification requirements. GOP officials including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) say the legislation would undermine election integrity by making it harder for local authorities to prevent voter fraud.
During a recent interview, Graham also pointed out that the bill imposes additional restrictions on how congressional districts are drawn.
He told Fox News Channel host Chris Wallace on Sunday that he does not “like the idea of taking the power to redistrict away from state legislators.”
Explaining his opposition in greater detail, the South Carolina Republican added: “Under this proposal, you would have some kind of commission, redraw the new districts, and I don’t like that. I want states where people are moving to have control over how to allocate new congressional seats.”
Of course, it is not just Republicans who have expressed concerns about the legislation.
“Impedes, undermines, and prohibits the will of the American people”
One recent poll conducted by Monmouth University found that a whopping 8 in 10 Americans believe voters should be required to present a valid ID before being allowed to cast a ballot.
For their part, Democrats seem to understand that Senate Republicans used the filibuster rule on Tuesday in a way that will effectively prevent the proposal from passing.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) called the failure of the bill “dramatic evidence of why the filibuster needs to be modified.”
He went on to tell reporters that the procedural tool is “undemocratic,” adding: “The filibuster impedes, undermines, and prohibits the will of the American people being articulated.”
Although the filibuster can be amended or removed by a simple majority vote, Democrats will still have a difficult time achieving that threshold with moderates in the party including Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) both signaling their intention to oppose any such effort.
The post Democrats lament failure of ‘For the People Act’ following GOP filibuster in Senate first appeared on Conservative Institute.
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