Questions for Sen. Cornyn
Filibuster and voting rights
Regarding “Texas Sen. Cornyn leads GOP pushback as Democrats tout federal voting bills,” ( Jan. 11): Sen. Cornyn held up that big sign you see on the Senate floor on Jan. 11 stating that “94% of Texans said voting in 2020 was easy.”
The things that made it easy to vote in 2020 such as premailed ballot applications and drive-thru voting, among other things, were outlawed in the new voting law recently passed in Texas.
These measures outlawed in the new law increased voting without increasing fraud.
The recently passed law did not seek to “reduce opportunities for fraud and mischief.” The new Texas voting law’s goal was to reduce easy access to voting. The two voting rights bills in the Senate would right that wrong.
Please vote for both bills and ensure all Texans can equitably exercise their right to vote.
Judith Lee, Beaumont
In 2006, Sen. John Cornyn voted for the Voting Rights Act Reauthorization, which was signed into law by President George Bush.
Why is Sen. Cornyn now opposed to the John Lewis Voting Act and the Freedom to Vote Act?
It is time to eliminate voting hurdles and gerrymandering and assure every eligible person’s vote counts.
Per Attorney General William Barr, the 2020 elections were fair and secure and absent of fraud. The people of Texas deserve to know why our senator no longer supports the right to vote, the bedrock of our democracy.
Joanie Weiner, Houston
Regarding “Editorial: American democracy is under threat. Where’s the bill to defend it?” ( Jan. 11): I absolutely agree with the premise.
Unfortunately, the Republican Party has become a party of one subject to the whims of Donald J. Trump.
We only need to look at the speeches on Jan. 6, 2022, that were only attended by Liz Cheney and her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney.
Time is of the essence if we want to preserve democracy.
Since the two current bills have languished in the Senate, the Democrats need to write a bill that will potentially have bipartisan support as Sen. Mitch McConnell says he favors rewriting the Electoral Count Act.
We are in desperate need of a bipartisan bill that preserves democracy. If even one Republican senator would agree, it would be a massive victory.
Please, Congress, be on the right side of history and enact a law to preserve this democracy.
Alexus Sham, Conroe