Didn’t I recently remind myself about all the great bills already written and pending in Congress? If only we had a Congress which would pass them?
Sure I did. And earlier this week, my optimistic attitude got a boost from a select group of leading congressional Democrats — including Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries (you get the picture, yes?) — who announced they were reintroducing the Freedom to Vote Act.
Oh, I hear you, I hear you moaning about how it won’t pass given our current MAGA-GOP mess. But I’m pretty sure that’s not why the Dems are reintroducing it now. This is a public pronouncement of Democratic Party intentions; it’s a campaign promise offering a hefty contrast to what the MAGA-GOP candidates are yammering on their campaign trails. Which is…the radical opposite of the sane Freedom to Vote Act.
So I thought you’d like to see what the specifics of the Freedom to Vote Act would give us if we do our part and vote in 2024 for the Dems to retake the House majority and increase their majority in the Senate:
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- Make November Election Days a public holiday,
- Enact automatic voter registration for each state,
- Require same-day voter registration and early voting periods in each state,
- Restore the right to vote in federal elections for people who have served their time for felony convictions,
- Expand voting protections and access requirements for disabled voters, military members and overseas voters,
- Set specific criteria for congressional redistricting to end partisan gerrymandering,
- Strengthen donor transparency in pursuit of ending dark money in elections and
- Establish federal protections to insulate nonpartisan state and local officials who administer elections.