The Vote on Voting Rights: What The Legislation Could Mean To You

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Currents News Staff

Voting Rights are front and center on Capitol Hill with two bills President Joe Biden is pushing.

“I’m tired of being quiet!” the president said.

The “Freedom To Vote Act” looks to make it easier to vote:

– Election day would be a public holiday

– You could register the same day as an election

– There’s a guarantee you could vote by mail

– People with past felony convictions would be able to vote in federal elections again.

It would also limit changes to Congressional voting districts and keep track of money given to groups looking to influence elections. The second bill is focused on bolstering the 1965 Voting Rights Act, forbidding racial discrimination in voting quietly brokered between President Lyndon B. Johnson, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders.

In fact, the new bill is named after a civil rights icon: the “John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act” which looks to regulate voting rule changes and redistricting in states with a history of voting rights violations.

The previous requirements were struck down by the Supreme Court in 2013.

For Democrats, the bills push back against new voting laws around the country that limit access to voting. But Republicans say it’s federal overreach and getting these bills through the House is one thing, but advancing them in the gridlocked Senate isn’t likely even if there’s a push by Democrats to change the rules to make it happen.

All of it: expected to take days to play out.