Capitol Hill Democrats say 'For the People Act' is top priority
WASHINGTON (SBG) — Democrats in both the House and Senate say one of their first priorities in the new Congress is passing a bill that specifically addresses voting issues and corruption in politics.
Backers of the bill, known as the "For the People Act," say it’s about creating a more perfect union, expanding voting rights, strengthening ethics rules for elected officials and weakening the role of money in politics.
"People in America want their government, their politics and their democracy back and that is what HR-1 is designed to do," said Rep. John Sarbanes, D-Md., in an interview Wednesday.
Sarbanes introduced the legislation earlier this month, though it passed the House previously. Provisions include setting a national standard for the way Americans vote, including requiring 15 days of early voting and same-day voter registration in all 50 states.
"Let America be the gold standard. When it comes to voting, that ought to be the baseline for us, that it’s easy for our citizens to register and cast their vote," Sarbanes said.
One of the biggest issues critics have with the bill was also one of the biggest focal points in the 2020 election – that is questions surrounding mail-in voting.
Some critics worry expanding access to absentee ballots and adding more drop boxes could promote voter fraud, pointing to the provision in the bill that prevents states from "requiring voters to provide identification in order to obtain an absentee ballot," with some sounding alarm bells about ballot harvesting, even though signature verification laws would remain in place.
Republicans dismissed the bill outright the last time around.
"What it really seems to be is a package of urgent measures to rewrite the rules of American politics for the exclusive benefit of the Democratic party," said then Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell back in January 2019.
Others say it's overstepping by Congress.
"The people of the states have elected their state legislatures to make these decisions. Some states like having voter ID. They don’t think that’s a weakness. Other states don’t like Id," said Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., in an interview Tuesday.
Republicans in the Senate stopped the bill from even coming up for a vote the last time around, though Democrats insist now is the time for major reform, following an election in which the integrity of the nation's voting system played a starring role.
