Republican senators again block electoral reform in Congress
Activists claim that the right to vote is defended in the country.
Photo: Alex Wong / Getty Images
Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked another bill from right to vote, while some legislators in Congress are calling for changes in the Upper House rules to allow the Democratic Party unilaterally change the federal electoral lawl. The vote was 49 to 51.
The bill democrat, known as Voting Freedom Law, it would make it easier to register to vote, make Election Day a holiday, ensure states have early voting for federal elections, and allow all voters to request ballots by mail.
The measure would also strengthen security in voting systems, review how congressional districts are redesigned, and impose new disclosures about donations to outside groups active in political campaigns. according CNN.
The legislation, dubbed the “Freedom to Vote Act”, aspired to be the largest electoral reform since the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which outlawed discriminatory practices against African Americans and is considered a landmark of the civil rights movement.
The Republicans They already blocked another similar bill in June called “For the People Act”.
Both laws sought to counteract restrictions on right to vote that Republicans have imposed at the state level in recent months with the approval of 33 laws in 17 states that limit the suffrage of Hispanics, African Americans and people with fewer economic resources, that go to the polls to a lesser extent.
Conservatives say their goal is to curb irregularities, but Democrats believe their real goal is to end the controls that prevented the former president Donald trump revoke the results of the 2020 presidential elections, in which he won Joe biden.
After the vote, visibly frustrated, the Senate Democratic Majority Leader, Chuck schumer, accused Republicans of having made voting suppression part of their political identity and promised that they will continue to fight to protect that right.
“These laws,” he said, “are a direct attack on our freedoms as American citizens.”
The battle over the right to vote It occurs because, in the United States, there is no central electoral system and each state sets its own electoral rules.
For example, in September, Texas passed a law restricting the right to vote of groups voting for Democrats in higher proportion, such as Hispanic and African American minorities and low-income individuals.
During the coronavirus pandemic, many states relaxed the requirements to vote by mail or early, sparking a record turnout in the 2020 election and fueling conspiracy theories by Trump and his supporters of alleged massive voter fraud. dismissed by the courts for lack of evidence.
With information from EFE
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