Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., intends to force a vote in June on a sweeping bill to overhaul elections.
In doing so, Schumer could be setting the stage for a battle over the filibuster, according to The Hill. The bill is called the For the People Act and is also known as S.1 and H.R.1.
"In the last week of the June work period, the Senate will vote on S.1, the For the People Act, legislation that is essential to defending our democracy, reducing the influence of dark money and powerful special interests, and stopping the wave of Republican voter suppression happening in the states across the country in service of President [Donald] Trump’s Big Lie," Schumer said in a letter to the Democrats’ caucus.
But the bill has been a target of outspoken critics. And The Hill pointed out that no GOP senators have voiced support for it.
H.R.1 is the "single most dangerous bill being considered by Congress right now," Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said earlier this month. "It is designed to entrench corrupt politicians in office and keep Democrats in power for 100 years. It has the federal government take over all elections. It repeals virtually all of the commonsense state integrity laws."
The bill contains several provisions that Cruz said will repeal "virtually all of the commonsense state integrity laws for elections" including voter ID laws.
The Hill noted the proposed legislation, which passed the House without any GOP support, will mandate states to offer mail-in ballots and a minimum of 15 days of early voting.
Democrats have invoked "Jim Crow" as a means to discredit the filibuster, a tactic that allows endless debate to stall legislation that was first enshrined in Senate rules in 1917. Prior to that, the Senate had no rules to end debate, and the chamber installed a 67-vote threshold to create one. That was reduced to 60 in 1975.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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