WASHINGTON (AP) – House Democrats passed sweeping voting and ethics legislation over unanimous Republican opposition, taking them to the Senate in what would be the largest overhaul of US electoral law in at least a generation.
House resolution 1, which affects virtually every aspect of the electoral process, was passed on Wednesday evening during a vote of 220-210 near the party line. It would limit biased gerrymandering from congressional districts, remove barriers to voting and bring transparency to a dark campaign finance system that allows wealthy donors to anonymously fund political causes.
The bill is a powerful counterbalance to the voting restrictions advancing in Republican-controlled state houses across the country following Donald Trump’s repeated false claims of a stolen election in 2020. Still, the country faces an uncertain fate in the Democrat-controlled Senate, where it has little chance of success without changing the procedural rules that currently allow Republicans to block it.
The stake in the outcome is monumental and cuts to the fundamental idea that one person equals one vote, and has the potential to shape the election results for years to come. It also provides a test of how hard President Joe Biden and his party are willing to fight for their priorities, as well as those of their constituents.
This bill “will end the voter oppression we are now seeing debated,” said Representative Nikema Williams, a new congressman representing the Georgia District that held the late voting champion John Lewis for years. “This bill is the ‘Good Trouble’ he fought for all his life.”
To the Republicans, however, it would license unwanted federal interference in the authority of states to hold their own elections – ultimately benefiting Democrats through increased voter turnout, particularly among minorities.
“Democrats want to use their razor-thin majority not to pass bills to gain voters’ confidence, but to make sure they don’t lose more seats in the next election,” said Kevin McCarthy, the minority leader in the United States. house, Tuesday from the House floor.
The measure has been a priority for Democrats since obtaining the majority of their homes in 2018. But it has gained additional urgency in the wake of Trump’s false claims., which led to the deadly storming of the Capitol in January.
Courts and even Trump’s last Attorney General, William Barr, found his allegations about the election unfounded. But, spurred on by those lies, state legislators in the US have introduced more than 200 bills in 43 states that would limit access to ballots, according to a count tracked by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University.
In Iowa, the legislature has voted to remove absence and personal early votes, while preventing local election officials from setting up additional locations to make early voting easier. In Georgia, the House voted on Monday in favor of legislation requiring identification to vote by mail that would also allow the counties to cancel the early personal vote on Sunday, when many black voters voted after church.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court appeared willing to enforce voting restrictions in Arizona, which could make it more difficult to challenge state election laws in the future.
When asked why advocates tried to enforce Arizona’s laws that restrict who can hand in absentee ballots and throw out ballots if they are cast in the wrong district, a state Republican Party attorney was astoundingly clear.
“Because it puts us at a competitive disadvantage over Democrats,” said attorney Michael Carvin. “Politics is a zero-sum game.”
Battle lines are quickly being drawn by outside groups that plan to spend millions of dollars on advertising and outreach campaigns.
Republicans “aren’t even shy about it. They say the ‘quiet parts’ out loud, ”said Tiffany Muller, the president of End Citizens United, a left-wing group that wants to limit the influence of corporate money in politics. Her organization has launched a $ 10 million effort to support the bill. “For them, it’s not about protecting our democracy or protecting our elections. This is about pure party political gain. “
Conservatives, meanwhile, are mobilizing a $ 5 million print campaign, urging moderate Senate Democrats to oppose rule changes needed to pass the measure.
“HR 1 is not about improving the election,” said Ken Cuccinelli, a former Trump administration official in charge of Homeland Security. It’s about the opposite. It is meant to pollute elections. “
So what’s actually on the bill?
HR 1 would require states to automatically register eligible voters, as well as offer same-day registration. It would limit the ability of states to purge registered voters from their lists and restore the right to vote for former criminals. In addition to dozens of other provisions, it would also require states to offer 15 days early voting and allow absenteeism votes without excuse.
On the eve of a one-off redrawing of congressional district boundaries, typically a vehemently partisan affair, the bill would require independent committees to handle the process in lieu of the state legislature.
Many Republican opponents in Congress have focused on more limited aspects, such as establishing a public convention campaign funding system that would be funded by fines and settlement proceeds raised by bad corporations.
They have also made an effort to revamp the federal government’s toothless election agent. That agency, the Federal Election Commission, has been in a partisan stalemate for years, leaving campaign finance law violators largely unchecked.
Another part that has drawn the attention of Republican anger would force the disclosure of donors to “ dark money ” political groups, which are a magnet for wealthy interests seeking to influence the political process while remaining anonymous.
Still, the biggest obstacles lie ahead in the Senate, which is split 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats.
Some legislation only takes 51 votes to pass, with Vice President Kamala Harris as the tiebreaker. Under Senate rules, for a bill like this that creates widespread disagreement, they would need 60 votes to overcome a Republican filibuster – a number they are unlikely to make.
Some Democrats have discussed options such as lowering the threshold to break a filibuster, or creating a workaround that could exempt priority legislation, including a separate John Lewis Voting Rights Act. Biden was cool about pushing for reforms, and Democratic congressional officials say the talks are fluid but ongoing.
Senate leader Chuck Schumer has not committed to a timetable, but has vowed to “find the best way to get big, bold action on a whole lot of fronts.”
He said, “We will not be the legislative graveyard. … people will be forced to vote on them, yes or no, on a lot of very important and serious issues. “
AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.