A House Democrat-backed voting rights bill, the For the People Act, has its first Senate committee hearing Wednesday.
The Power Coalition for Equity and Justice touted the legislation as an important step forward in ensuring democracy is easily assessable to all. Director of Strategic Partnerships Morgan Shannon said if signed into law H.R. 1 would institute automatic voter registration when people come of age, allow same-day online voter registration, and mandate precinct distribution based on population.
“We saw that in some of our parishes, Jefferson, Orleans, where there were lines wrapped around the corner people were in line for several hours trying to vote,” said Shannon.
H.R. 1 would also ban voter purges. Shannon said in Louisiana voters who do not vote in multiple federal elections in a row can be purged from the rolls. The legislation would also mandate a minimum of two weeks of early voting and vote by mail for all elections.
Senator Bill Cassidy opposes the legislation. He said it would facilitate more voter fraud, in particular, because it blocks states from requiring residents to have an ID to vote.
“You have got to show your ID to get on a plane. You’ve got to show your ID to get into the Democratic National Convention or Republican Convention. You should have to show an ID to vote,” said Cassidy, who also argued the legislation would allow unethical ballot harvesting of homeless populations.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called H.R. 1 a Democrat power-grab. Cassidy agreed.
“If you are (Speaker) Nancy Pelosi or (Senate Majority Leader) Chuck Schumer, and you want a little bit of an edge, put different a thumb on the scale of who votes, then this is a scale you want your thumb on,” said Cassidy.
Shannon said there’s no evidence that making it easier to vote will damage the integrity of elections. She says that’s often just a race-baiting narrative.
“When we talk about mythical voter fraud it usually only happens when talking about black and brown communities. Suddenly their increased access results in some type of fraud?” asked Shannon.
H.R. 1 seems unlikely to pass the Senate without a repeal of the filibuster.
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