“We are very deeply engaged in working with members of the Senate and their teams on how this can move forward,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said of H.R. 1, or the “For the People Act of 2021,” which passed the House last month.
“The right to vote is the foundation of American democracy. Free and fair elections that reflect the will of the American people must be protected and defended,” President Biden remarked during the Martin & Coretta Scott King Unity Breakfast. “But many Americans, especially people of color, confront significant obstacles to exercising that fundamental right. These obstacles include difficulties with voter registration, lack of election information, and barriers to access at polling places.”
House Resolution 1 – the “For the People Act of 2021” – counts as a strong rebuke and counterbalance to voting restrictions considered or enacted in various Republican-led states across the country. It restricts partisan gerrymandering of congressional districts and nullifies obstacles for voters.
“Some had to pay fees. Some were tested. Many people died for that right. It is too important for us not to vote, and if we want to have a democracy, we need to participate in it. We can’t hope that situations will change. We have to be active in helping candidates get elected who will create that change,” said Lex Scott, the president of the Black Lives Matter Utah Chapter.
Only journalists of color received an invitation to the event, which included remarks from Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Doug Jones (D-Ala.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), and several others.
“The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.” So reads the 15th Amendment, ratified on February 3, 1870, the third of what came to be known as the Reconstruction amendments.
“This is a discriminatory state law that is antiquated and almost equates to the laws that discriminated against racial minorities decades ago when they were required to pay a poll tax in order to vote…” — Sheila Jackson Lee