The U.S. Senate recessed for the summer Thursday without passing urgent voting rights legislation following Republicans successful efforts once again to block Senate Democrats attempt to bring a trio of elections bills to the floor for debate.
By Whitney Gresham
It marked the second time since June that a united Republicans front has thwarted the Democrats effort to pass voting rights legislation designed to counter a slew of voter suppression laws advanced by Republican-controlled states to restrict Black voters from full participation in the political process.
Democratic leaders insisted that another attempt at passing the legislation – which cleared the House of Representatives in the spring – more votes would be the “first matter of legislative business” when they return in mid-September.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced his plan for floor action in September on the bill, known as the For the People Act, which Democrats have tried to pass for months. The legislation would offer much-needed protections against Republican and wealthy conservative donors’ efforts to rig elections by suppressing the votes of Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, the poor, and students by curbing the influence of big money in politics, limiting the partisan considerations in the drawing of congressional districts. The bill would also mandate that states set up automatic voter registration, 15 days of early voting, and no-excuse mail-in voting. It would require political groups to disclose the identity of their big donors.
Schumer tried to force debates and votes on the For the People Act and on two other narrower bills focused on redistricting and campaign finance disclosure using unanimous consent to waive the normal Senate procedures. Republicans blocked all three, which they claimed constituted an attempt by Democrats to usurp the states and rewrite election rules for their benefit.
“Republicans once again obstructed even debating voting rights legislation in the Senate,” he said during a press conference Thursday. “Let me be clear, Republicans refusing to support anything on voting rights is not an excuse for Democrats to do nothing. Voting rights will be the very first matter of legislative business when the Senate returns to session in September.”
Republican leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and other Republicans argued there is no voter suppression taking place in the country despite more than 400 bills including provisions that restrict voting access have been introduced in 49 states – all by Republican legislators.
Michael Waldman, president of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, a non-partisan law and policy institute, wrote last month that between January 1 and July 14, those bills that included provisions that restrict voting access have been introduced in 49 states. And during that same time, 18 states have enacted 30 laws that make it harder for people to vote. The laws make mail voting and early voting more difficult. They impose harsh voter ID requirements. They make purging eligible voters from the rolls more likely.
“These laws 一 disingenuously marketed as “election integrity” 一 were passed and signed into law by nearly 20 governors despite absolutely no evidence of widespread fraud,” he wrote.
In response to Republican senators blocking a floor debate on the For the People Act, Wade Henderson, interim president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued a statement once again calling on the Senate to reform the filibuster to protect the right to vote.
“Despite the overwhelming, bipartisan public support for the For the People Act, Republicans have unconscionably continued to unjustly and irresponsibly block this crucially important legislation that would ensure no voter is denied the right to cast their ballot freely, safely, and equally,” he said. “It is vital that Senate Democrats and the Biden administration make the For the People Act a priority. They must outline a path forward to ensuring our freedom to vote, and not let an arcane Senate rule impede progress. Our voices and demands for federal legislation that will help realize the promise of our democracy will not be silenced.”
Sherrilyn Ifill, the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund President and Director-Counsel, noted this week marked the 56th anniversary of the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act and that tragically, voting rights are under assault with an intensity unseen since before the signing of that historic law.
She said Congress has full authority to prevent these suppressive attacks and a Constitutional duty to protect voting rights, yet federal lawmakers are failing to safeguard the rights of “the very people who gave them their seats at the table.”
“We are in a state of emergency in our democracy — and we cannot out-litigate or out-organize the ceaseless deluge of threats to the right to vote, nor should there be an expectation that the onus is on civil rights groups to serve as the sole guardians of this fundamental right,” Ifill said in a statement to the media. “It is past time for Congress to implement sweeping voting rights protections for all and restore the Voting Rights Act to its full power. Lawmakers must immediately pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the For the People Act to ensure that we do not continue on this trajectory of democratic backsliding — and guarantee equal access to the ballot box for every eligible voter.”
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