Congressional Democrats say it’s time to get rid of “dark money” and make it easier for people to vote.
The House of Representatives is preparing to pass a sweeping voting rights bill Wednesday that would be the most significant elections legislation since the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Appearing on the Capitol steps, Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared a new day for American democracy.
“This is called the ‘For the People bill’. And in doing so, we combat big, dark special interest money in politics and amplify the voice of the American people.”
Pelosi and Congressional Democrats have made voting rights one of their top legislative priorities.
The bill, also known as H.R. 1, includes automatic voter registration, ends partisan gerrymandering, regulates campaign finance, expands voting by mail and early voting, would stop localized voter suppression efforts and much more.
“Across the country over 200 bills are being put together, provisions are being put forth to suppress the vote. To suppress the vote, how could it be?” Pelosi asked.
The push comes as Republican-controlled states continue to advance voting restrictions in the name of election security.
In Iowa, state lawmakers have voted to limit absentee and in-person early voting. A voter ID law is advancing in Georgia. And the Supreme Court is leaning towards upholding voting restrictions in Arizona; that decision could make it more difficult to challenge elections laws in the future.
A Republican Party lawyer fighting to uphold the Arizona laws said protecting them was a matter of politics.
“It puts us at a competitive disadvantage relative to Democrats,” said attorney Michael Carvin. “Politics is a zero-sum game."
Pelosi said the law would put a stop these types of efforts.
If passed, H.R. 1 – and the elections laws advancing across the country that the bill aims to fight – could change the outcome of elections for decades to come.
Republicans call it an unconstitutional power grab that would infringe states’ abilities to set their own elections laws.
While the bill is sure to pass the House, Republicans could use the filibuster to block the bill in the Senate unless Democrats do away with the filibuster.
H.R. 1 was written largely by the late civil rights leader and Congressman John Lewis, along with San Jose Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren and Maryland’s John Sarbanes.
“I hope that for all their cynical arguments against it, some of our friends across the aisle will get a grip and understand that it is in everyone’s interest,” said Lofgren.
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