The need to fix American elections should be apparent to everyone. The newly empowered Democrats are putting together the finishing touches on legislation in this regard. Washington Post columnist Greg Sargent has the latest news on this vitally important story:
The new bill would dramatically broaden voting access. It would require states to implement automatic voter registration, extensive early voting and same-day registration. It would restrict efforts by states to place suppressive hurdles on voting and vote-by-mail.
The bill also seeks to restore protections in the Voting Rights Act that the Supreme Court gutted and to block states from disenfranchising felons. It would require states to adopt independent redistricting commissions, a strike at likely GOP efforts to gerrymander House maps in 2021.
The bill would also implement new disclosure requirements on lobbying and “dark money” spending, and would require presidents and vice presidents to disclose tax returns. These would constitute a major reform effort after the extraordinary corruption of the Trump era and codify a norm against personal self-dealing that Trump basically destroyed.
Since the election of George Washington as the first President in 1789, the United States has held local, state, and federal elections every two years. It is an amazing accomplishment. Whether the US is a true democracy today, however, rests on what your definition of democracy is. In many parts of America, democracy is surely still active. But clearly, there are problems that run straight to the top in American democracy and the system’s integrity is declining and not improving. It is time surely for the United States to reform its electoral system and solidify a system of government that is honorable and democratic. Only time will tell how this turns out.
Also, see related Democracy Chronicles articles like those on the Founding Fathers, Election History, or even seen our section on American Democracy.
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