WASHINGTON (AP) – House Democrats passed general legislation on ethics and voting on unanimous Republican opposition, and advanced in the Senate what would be the largest revision of U.S. election law in at least a generation.
House Resolution 1, which affects virtually every aspect of the electoral process, was passed Wednesday night in a vote close to the 220-210 party line. It would restrict partisan maneuvering of congressional districts, borders on voting and provides transparency to a murky campaign funding system that allows wealthy donors to fund political causes anonymously.
The bill is a powerful counterweight to the restrictions on voting rights advancing in Republican-controlled state houses across the country following Donald Trump’s repeated false claims about a stolen 2020 election. he faces an uncertain fate in the Democratic-controlled Senate, where he has little chance of passing without changes to the rules of procedure that currently allow Republicans to block him.
The stakes of the result are monumental, reduced to the fundamental idea that a person is equal to one vote and carries the potential to shape the election results for years to come. It also provides proof of the difficulty President Joe Biden and his party have in fighting for their priorities, as well as those of their voters.
This bill “will put an end to the suppression of voters we are debating right now,” said Rep. Nikema Williams, a new congresswoman representing the Georgia district who died for years voting rights champion John Lewis. “This bill is the ‘good problem’ he struggled with all his life.”
Republicans, however, would license unwanted federal interference in state authority to conduct their own elections, ultimately benefiting Democrats through higher turnout, especially among minorities.
“Democrats want to use their meager majority not to approve bills to gain voter confidence, but to make sure they don’t lose more seats in the next election,” the House’s minority leader said Tuesday. Kevin McCarthy.
The move has been a priority for Democrats since they won a majority in the House in 2018. But it has taken on additional urgency in the wake of Trump’s false claims., which caused the deadly storm of the United States Capitol in January.
The courts and even Trump’s last attorney general, William Barr, found his claims about the election to be without merit. But spurred on by these lies, U.S. state lawmakers have introduced more than 200 bills in 43 states that would limit access to the polls, according to a count maintained by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University.
In Iowa, the legislature voted to cut early absentee and face-to-face voting, while preventing local election officials from establishing additional posts to facilitate early voting. In Georgia, the House on Monday voted to force legislation to identify itself by voting by mail this would also allow counties to cancel early voting in person on Sundays, when many black voters vote after church.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court appeared willing to maintain voting restrictions in Arizona, which could make it difficult to challenge state election laws in the future.
When asked why advocates tried to defend Arizona laws, which limit who can vote in absentia and allow votes to be cast if they are cast in a wrong venue, a state Republican Party lawyer had a impressive clarity.
“Because it puts us at a competitive disadvantage over Democrats,” said attorney Michael Carvin. “Politics is a zero-sum game.”
External groups planning to spend millions of dollars on advertising and outreach campaigns are rapidly drawing up battle lines.
Republicans “aren’t even bothering about it. They are saying the “quiet parts” out loud, “said Tiffany Muller, president of End Citizens United, a left-wing group that seeks to reduce the influence of corporate money on politics. $ 10 million effort to support the bill. “For them, it’s not about protecting our democracy or protecting our elections. It’s about pure partisan political gain.”
Meanwhile, the Conservatives are mobilizing a $ 5 million pressure campaign, urging moderate Senate Democrats to oppose the rule changes needed to pass the measure.
“HR 1 is not about improving elections,” said Ken Cuccinelli, a former National Security official in the Trump administration who is leading the effort. “It simply came to our notice then. The aim is to dirty the elections. “
So what’s really on the bill?
HR 1 would require states to automatically register eligible voters, in addition to offering registration on the same day. It would limit the ability of states to purge registered voters from their lists and restore the voting rights of former offenders. Among dozens of other provisions, it would also require states to offer 15 days of early voting and allow absentee voting.
Faced with the redesign of the congressional district boundaries, decade after decade, usually a fiercely partisan affair, the bill would require non-partisan commissions to manage the process rather than state legislatures.
Many Republican opponents in Congress have focused on narrower aspects, such as the creation of a public funding system for Congressional campaigns that would be funded through fines and liquidation proceeds obtained from bad corporate actors.
They have also attacked an effort to renew police in the federal government’s toothless election. This agency, the Federal Electoral Commission, has been stopped by the partisan blockade for years, which has allowed violators of the campaign finance law not to be controlled.
Another section focused on Republican anger would force the disclosure of donors to “dark money” political groups, which are a magnet for wealthy interests who want to influence the political process and remain anonymous.
Still, the biggest hurdles remain in the Senate, which is split between 50 and 50 between Republicans and Democrats.
In some legislations, only 51 votes are needed to pass, with Vice President Kamala Harris as the tiebreaker. In a deeply divisive bill like this, they would need 60 votes under Senate rules to overcome a Republican hurdle, a calculation they are unlikely to achieve.
Some Democrats have debated options such as lowering the threshold to break a filibuster or creating an alternative solution that would exempt priority legislation, including an independent John Lewis voting rights law. Biden has been great with filibuster reforms and Democratic Congress aides say the talks are smooth but ongoing.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has not committed to a period of time but promised to “figure out the best way to get big, bold action on many fronts.”
He said: “We will not be the legislative cemetery. … People will be forced to vote for them, yes or no, on many very important and serious issues. “
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AP Congress correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.