WaPo: Democrats signal voting rights bills will top the agenda if Harris wins
We've heard a lot this year about our democracy and the future of our country, about the road we're on and the paths we can choose. A challenge to defend voting rights lies in front of us next year and we can't let anything stand in our way as we work to protect this fundamental right.
John: HUGE news from the Democratic Party's convention in Chicago.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says he would be willing to set aside the filibuster to pass legislation that would protect and defend Americans' right to vote. If his party keeps the Senate majority, he says it will have the votes necessary to “change the rules” and make voting rights legislation a top priority, a reference to carving out an exception to the filibuster.
Remember, now-Independent Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema famously preferred to keep the Senate's rule governing the filibuster in place instead of protecting our voting rights, reproductive freedoms, and so much more.
We need to make sure every American voter is aware of this promise. We need to make sure we turn out every pro-democracy voter we can to make sure this happens. Our right to vote and the foundation of our democracy depends on it.
Vice President Harris approves of altering or eliminating the filibuster to protect voting rights, so we'd need to see her elected and to give Chuck Schumer 50 U.S. Senators who would be willing to do the right thing so that the Senate can vote up and down for real and pass bills like the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the Freedom to Vote Act.
Need proof? Chuck Schumer, in his own words: “One of the first things I want to do, should we have the presidency and keep the majority, is change the rules and enact both the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Act.”
We usually don't get second or third chances to pass crucial legislation. But this could give us one more at-bat to hit this out of the park. It's up to us to educate voters across the country about the implications of this important election.