To secure voting rights, dismantle the filibuster

Passing bipartisan voting rights legislation is a fool’s errand right now. For 30 years, Republicans have improved their election outcomes by suppressing the vote and gerrymandering, not by changing their message to persuade more voters. And, as Melissa Bromley’s June 22 letter aptly illustrates, Republican voter suppression exists even in Troy.

Defeated in 2020, Republicans, using the Big Lie of a fraudulent election to justify themselves, pressured Republican state governments to “find” votes, tried to disqualify Democratic ballots, and, most worryingly, attempted to allow state legislatures to choose different electors not reflecting the voter’s will.

Now, many Republicandominated legislatures are using the Big Lie to justify election “reforms,” in actuality Jim Crow voter restrictions making voting more difficult by reducing polling locations and hours, purging voter rolls and stipulating onerous voter identification requirements. Some even enable states to overturn the popular vote, ensuring Republican control.

The “For the People Act” S1, however, is designed to prevent partisan gerrymandering, expand voting access and ease, and lessen the influence of big money.

This bill will not pass with the filibuster in place, which will permit just 41 of 50 Republicans to waylay it.

Despite Democratic compromises, Senate Minority Leader Mitch Mcconnell is adamantly opposed to S1. Recently, a bill that would only investigate the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol was defeated by a GOP filibuster. Any party unwilling to vote with Democrats, even about an attempted coup, is unlikely to work with them on voting rights.

We must contact Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer and demand that the filibuster end so our voting rights and our democracy can survive.

Gail Rychlewski

Delmar