This week, the GOP continued its focus on targeted voter restrictions nationwide. House Republicans authored a letter urging Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to remove the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (H.R. 4) from the floor agenda before unanimously opposing the bill. Despite this attempt, the House on Tuesday voted with the support of every Democrat to pass this legislation that would restore federal oversight provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The bill now moves to the Senate as Republicans across the country continue their push to put barriers between voters and the ballot box.
In Texas, as state Democrats returned from Washington after a six-week-long effort to delay action on S.B. 1, which would ban 24-hour and drive-thru voting, add more liabilities for those assisting voters with disabilities, and give more power to partisan poll watchers, Republicans are on the verge of passing the bill, despite hours of public testimony against the bill. The bill is expected to be signed by the Governor.
In Ohio, Republicans have concentrated their efforts on passing a recently introduced voter suppression bill. The proposed bill (H.B. 387) would prohibit ballots returned via a dropbox from counting, and completely prevent most Ohioans from mail-in voting. Additionally, the Ohio Secretary of State would be barred from sending absentee ballot applications to voters and precinct officials would be limited in how long they could work the polls.
In Oregon, GOP activists filed an anti-voting referendum petition seeking to overturn two laws passed in Oregon this year that made voting more accessible. The bills prevent voters from being deemed “inactive” for not voting, which would make them ineligible to automatically receive a mail ballot, and ensure that mail ballots are counted as long as they are postmarked by election day.
In North Carolina, voters had a win in the courts over state GOP lawmakers’ anti-voting efforts. A state court restored voting rights to an estimated 55,000 North Carolinians on parole or probation for a felony. Despite the panel ruling, Republican House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger hired a private lawyer to file an appeal and challenge the rules on when felony offenders can get their voting rights restored.
In the midst of the Senate recess, the Republican party and their dark money allies have made it clear that they are willing to do whatever it takes to maintain power, including restricting Americans from voting. Without the Senate passing the For the People Act and the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, attacks on the fundamental freedom to vote will continue across the country, preventing Americans from having their voice heard in our democracy. Process and procedure cannot stand in the way of protecting the right to vote and the Senate must act quickly.
###