Congressional Democrats and civil rights leaders call for change
WASHINGTON — A coalition of Democratic lawmakers and civil rights leaders on Tuesday urged Congress to reform the filibuster in order to pass voting rights legislation in the next Congress.
“Simply put, the right to vote is the protection of all other rights,” Georgia Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock said at a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol.
Warnock was joined by Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Rep. Joe Morrell of New York, Rep. Terry Sewell of Alabama and John D. of Maryland. Sarbanes, as well as representatives from dozens of civil rights groups, including plaintiffs in southern voting rights lawsuits.
They advocate for Congress to pass several pieces of legislation, including:
- Heart rate 14which would restore the preclearance portion of the Voting Rights Act that was gutted by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling;
- S.1which would limit political spending in campaigns and modernize federal elections; and
- human Resources. 51which would make the District of Columbia a state of the United States.
another bill, Human Resources 5008a Native American voting rights bill designed to help tribes gain access to the ballot box.
The Senate filibuster means a 60-vote threshold is required for nearly all legislation. With Democrats holding a slim majority, they are unable to muster as many votes on major legislation ranging from voting rights to gun safety.
Sewell is a sponsor of H.R. 14, named for the late Georgia Democratic Rep. John Lewis, a champion of civil rights and voting rights. She called for reform of the filibuster.
“We know that the Senate’s archaic structural practices are holding back this process,” Sewell said of her bill, which passed the House when Democrats controlled it.
Klobuchar said she hopes Senate Democrats can persuade their colleagues to change the rules and create an exception to the filibuster to pass voting rights legislation.
Two independent senators who oppose the filibuster exception are Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin III of West Virginia. Neither man ran for re-election.
“I’m excited about the future of the work we will accomplish on these important democracy bills,” Klobuchar said. “I hope we never give up on our hearts.”
Sarbanes, the sponsor of House Bill S.1, said the path to passage for the four bills lies in the “procedural path” of having the opportunity to challenge the filibuster.
“Everyone here is ready and ready to take advantage of that sunny day, that moment,” Sarbanes said. “We hope it comes soon. We believe it will come soon. We will do Be prepared.
Taiwan Scott, Plaintiffs in Alexander v. NAACP South Carolina Convention, Now there is a case south carolina supreme court Regarding the racial gerrymandering of South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, he said he and some 30,000 Gullah Geechee residents “were removed from my legitimate congressional district and squeezed into one in a deliberate attempt to weaken our political system.” Power move.
U.S. Supreme Court May rendered a 6-3 verdict Dismissal of a case filed on behalf of Scott, a black Hilton Head Island resident who lives in the 1st Ward.
Gullah Geechee ResidentsDescendants of enslaved Africans on the rice and cotton plantations along the lower Atlantic coast. They speak the only distinctly African Creole language in the coastal areas of Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia in the United States.
“Congress itself established the Gullah Geechee Heritage Corridor to protect our culture, but instead of supporting it, we found ourselves marginalized,” he said. “While three federal judges ruled in our favor, our voices were muted and our representation weakened… After an eight-day trial, the Supreme Court chose to ignore the decision, forcing us to Living and voting under a map of racial injustice This is why federal voting rights legislation is so important.
