Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) has issued a new call for the federal enactment of voting rights protections amid the nationwide push by Republican leaders to impose new election restrictions. These Republicans have characterized their efforts as concerned with election integrity, but there’s no documented, systematic election integrity problem in the United States. After last year’s elections, officials in every single state and at the federal level have confirmed that the results were secure and unaffected by (non-existent) systematic fraud. The MyPillow guy, an election conspiracy promoter, isn’t somehow in a position to be better informed about election security than the officials in every single state who actually deal with the issue on a daily basis.
On Monday, Warnock commented as follows:
‘Your vote is your voice, and your voice is your human dignity. That’s why we must pass voting rights legislation no matter what.’
Your vote is your voice, and your voice is your human dignity. That’s why we must pass voting rights legislation no matter what.
— Reverend Raphael Warnock (@ReverendWarnock) July 26, 2021
At present, two voting rights bills remain top priorities for Democratic leaders. Those bills, including the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, would each protect voting rights in their own way. In the case of the For the People Act, which has been filibustered by Senate Republicans once already but could be brought up again, enacting the legislation would put an array of provisions in place to make voting in federal elections more accessible. Meanwhile, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would re-impose a requirement for federal authorities to approve of certain changes to the conducting of elections before those changes’ actual implementation. The hope would be to stop voter suppression, in some forms at least, before it starts.
Warnock’s victory in Georgia earlier this year helped deliver control of the Senate to Democrats, which in turn helped ensure the passage of a monumental COVID-19 economic relief package earlier this year and also helped ensure the confirmation by the Senate of key Biden nominees. Subsequently, these nominees — some of whom secured their positions with smaller levels of support from the Senate than others — have been able to carry out key elements of the Biden agenda, from changes to federal policy towards immigrants to a renewed push to impose environmental protections. Warnock is technically currently serving out the end of a term won by a previous Senator who retired, and next year, he’ll have an opportunity to win a full, six-year term from Georgia voters.
