Biden calls for end to filibuster to pass voting rights legislation
In a much anticipated speech concerning voting rights delivered in Atlanta, Georgia, President Biden called for an end to the filibuster in the US Senate if it meant passing bills like the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act. Several notable voting rights advocacy groups skipped the speech as a means to express frustration with the Biden Administration for failing to prioritize voting rights in his first year in office and for coming to Atlanta with bold words but
Dems’ filibuster conundrum: It’s not just Manchin and Sinema
While Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) have been the Senators in their party most vocally opposed to eliminating the chamber’s 60-vote threshold for passing filibustered legislation, a number of other Senate Democrats have expressed their own qualified reservations more quietly. Mark Kelly, Arizona’s other Senator, says he is still not sure how he would vote on changes to the filibuster that Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) might bring to the floor. Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) favors returning to the “talking filibuster” of
NYC City Council gives noncitizens voting rights
The New York City Council has followed through on their plan to grant voting rights to the vast majority of the metropolis’ documented non-citizens. On January 9th, 2023, the city’s Green Card holders, as well as holders of work authorizations, Deferred Action status (DACA), or Temporary Protected Status (TPS), will be allowed to register to vote in municipal elections. NYC Councilmember Ydanis Rodriguez, who sponsored the legislation, says, “During the height of the pandemic, it was our immigrant New Yorkers who kept New York
Sinema pops Democrats’ filibuster trial balloon on voting rights
Senator from Arizona Kyrsten Sinema continues to oppose her fellow Democrats’ evolving efforts to modify the filibuster in order to pass voting rights reforms. While Sinema insists that she supports both the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, she remains unwilling to weaken the 60-vote requirement for the passage of such legislation. A spokesman for Sinema says that the Arizona Senator is concerned that weakening the filibuster could mean that, in the future when Republicans once again have
Martin Luther King Jr.’s family calls for ‘no celebration’ of MLK Day without action on voting rights legislation
The family of the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. is calling for a cancellation of the upcoming celebrations of MLK Day if Congress fails to pass voting rights reform. Martin Luther King III, the son of the slain civil rights icon, has said in a statement that "President Biden and Congress used their political muscle to deliver a vital infrastructure deal, and now we are calling on them to do the same to restore the very voting rights protections my father and countless