On this edition of Your Call, we discuss the future of voting rights now that Democratic Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema refuse to support changing filibuster rules.
Without a change, there is no path to get 60 votes. One Republican, Senator Lisa Murkowski, supports the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. Not one Republican supports the the Freedom To Vote Act. The House recently combined the bills. Senator Murkowski has not made a statement on the combined bill. Meantime, Republican state legislators continue to pass laws to make it harder for people to vote, especially people of color. Without federal legislation, what's next?
Guests:
Brandon Ortega, a junior at Arizona State University, who is on a hunger strike for voting rights with members of Un-PAC, a group of young students organizing to pass the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act
Wanda Mosely, National Field Director for Black Voters Matter, an organization dedicated to expanding Black voter engagement and increasing progressive power
Diana Philip, Chief of Staff at the Democracy Initiative, a coalition of 75 civil rights, gender rights, labor and environmental organizations with a combined 45 million members
Bertrall Ross, Justice Thurgood Marshall Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Virginia School of Law
Web Resources:
AP: Sinema, Manchin slammed as Senate begins voting bill debate
New York Times Op-Ed: How Did Democrats Let This Happen?
Mother Jones: The Coming Coup: How Republicans Are Laying the Groundwork to Steal Future Elections
Mother Jones: Leaked Video: Dark Money Group Brags About Writing GOP Voter Suppression Bills Across the Country
The Washington Post: Election officials in Texas reject hundreds of ballot applications under state’s new voting restrictions
The Brennan Center for Justice: The Impact of Voter Suppression on Communities of Color
The Century Foundation: The “For the People Act” Would Help Close the Economic Voter Participation Gap