Agenda languishing, Democrats press Biden to go it alone
Anxious that their perceived underperformance may depress voter turnout among liberals this November, congressional Democrats are urging President Biden to take unilateral executive action on issues important to their party. Among their key concerns is voting rights. Representative Joyce Beatty (D-OH-3), the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, says, “
Wisconsin Republicans take redistricting fight to high court
Claiming an illegal bias in favor of racial minority voters, Wisconsin Republicans have asked the United States Supreme Court to put a stay on a decision made by their state’s highest court. Because Wisconsin’s Democratic governor and Republican-dominated legislature could not reach an agreement on how to redraw their state’s election maps based on the 2020 census, they appealed to the Wisconsin State Supreme Court to make a final ruling. While the chosen maps still give an overall advantage to Republican legislators, they do
Biden all but concedes defeat on voting, election bills
After an hour-long, private meeting with recalcitrant Democratic Senators, President Biden told members of the press that he remains unsure whether voting rights reform bills can be passed this session. “The honest to God answer is I don’t know whether we can get this done,” Biden admitted. The statement, dispiriting to advocates of voting rights after almost a year of new, restrictive voting laws passing through state houses across the nation, came after freshman Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) gave a speech on the Senate
Texas governor signs new GOP voting restrictions into law
Republican Governor Greg Abbott of Texas has signed a new elections law after a prolonged battle with Democrats in the state legislature. The bill was signed in Tyler, a city in East Texas, which is part of the district represented by Texas Senator Brian Hughes, who is credited as the main author of the bill. At least three lawsuits have already been filed against the state for what many view as its excessively restrictive policies regarding voting access. Visit the Associated Press to learn more. Image Credit:
Democrats unveil plan to update landmark voting law
US Representative Terri Sewell (D-AL-07) has officially introduced a bill designed to restore the Department of Justice’s authority to inspect and then approve or reject changes to elections laws from states who are determined to have a history of voter discrimination. The so-called John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would update the legal formula used to determine if a state had a recent history of voter discrimination. An earlier formula employed by the Department of Justice was invalidated by the Supreme Court in 2013.