To the editor:
Democracy is based on one person, one vote. Since the November election, I think most voters agree that our election system needs work. A bill was scheduled to reach the House of Representatives on March 1, and is expected to reach the Senate soon. It is H.R.1, the “For the People Act.”
The updates in this bill are designed to enable as many Americans as possible to participate in our democratic system of government. They eliminate barriers to registering to vote and getting to the polls, among other fair practices.
Here is a quick snapshot, courtesy of Common Cause, outlining the parts about protecting and expanding voting rights and election security:
- Automatic voter registration;
- Online voter registration;
- Same-day voter registration;
- Make election day a federal holiday;
- Voting rights restoration to people with prior felony convictions;
- Expand early voting and simplify absentee voting;
- Prohibit voter purges that kick eligible voters off the registration rolls;
- Enhance election security with increase support for a paper-based voting system and more oversight over election vendors;
- End partisan gerrymandering by established independent redistricting commissions;
- Prohibit providing false information about the elections process that discourage voting and other deceptive practices.
There are more proposals in H.R.1, including reducing the influence of big money in our politics and ensuring an ethical government accountable to the people. For the full text go to https://www.commoncause.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/HR-1_TheForthePeopleAct_FINAL.pdf or Google “For the People Act.”
While these goals are fair and sensible, as of this writing forty-three states have introduced legislation, with over 250 bills, that attempt to suppress voting. Bills have titles such as “Save Democracy,” but a close examination reveals the underlying motivation: disenfranchising people of color, the young and low-income voters.
Don’t let this happen to our democracy. Let our legislators know that you stand up for fair elections by supporting the For the People Act: Contact Rep. Trey Hollingsworth, Senator Todd Young and Senator Mike Braun.
https://hollingsworth.house.gov/contact
https://www.braun.senate.gov/contact-mike
Judith East, board member, League of Women Voters of Brown County
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