Tag Archive for: Voting Rights

Democracy 21 Report: A Timeline Of The Senate Filibuster, 1806 – 2021

  View And Download This Report As A PDF By: Fred Wertheimer, President, Democracy 21  |  December 2021 The United States Senate is facing a decision of historic consequence with the fate of our democracy at stake. Will 50 Senators plus the Vice President be able to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and override […]

As Democracy Summit Approaches, President Biden Must Make The Freedom To Vote Act His Absolute Priority, D21 Vice President Matt Keller Writes In The Hill

As the White House prepares to host a Summit for Democracy on December 9, President Joe Biden is “failing in his efforts to restore faith in American Democracy at home and abroad by standing on the sidelines as The Freedom to Vote Act is being blocked by a filibuster in the Senate,” Democracy 21 Vice President Matt Keller writes in an […]

5 Ways Trump’s Big Lie Is Setting The Stage To Rig & Steal Future Elections

FRED WERTHEIMER’S WEEKLY NOTE  |  December 2, 2021 We need to be clear-eyed about what former President Trump, his acolytes, and state and congressional Republican officeholders are doing. Trump is a habitual liar who repeatedly claims the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him, without a shred of credible evidence to back that up. Since […]

Sue Halpern In The New Yorker: Biden’s Global Democracy Summit Raises An Awkward Question: Can Ours Endure?

In the months since President Joe Biden took office, “the prospects for improving American democracy have dimmed considerably,” Sue Halpern writes today on The New Yorker website. “It’s against this gloomy backdrop that the Biden Administration will be hosting a virtual Summit for Democracy in early December, with invitees from more than a hundred countries. […]

E.J. Dionne Jr. In The Washington Post: “The Hypocrisy Argument On The Filibuster Is Itself Phony”

In a new op-ed, Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne Jr. lays out the urgent need to reform the filibuster: “[T]he core reason the filibuster must be reformed is the moral imperative of passing bills to defend democracy.” Reforming the filibuster, Dionne writes, is the only way to “undo the voter suppression and election subversion laws […]

Nearly 9 Months And Still No Senate Action On Voting Rights. Here’s Why.

FRED WERTHEIMER’S WEEKLY NOTE | November 18, 2021 On March 3, the House of Representatives passed the For the People Act, landmark legislation to establish fair voting rules for federal elections and to stop voter suppression efforts in the states. Now, some nine months later, the Senate has failed to act on – or even […]

Analysis: Why The Filibuster Rules Must Be Revised In Order To Protect Voting Rights And Save The Senate

  By: Fred Wertheimer, President, Democracy 21 The filibuster is again at the center of an ongoing battle in the Senate over civil rights. Since June, four filibusters have blocked pending voting rights legislation that would protect millions of eligible Americans from losing their ability to vote in federal elections. The right to vote is […]

The Civil Rights Filibuster Returns With A Vengeance

FRED WERTHEIMER’S WEEKLY NOTE | November 11, 2021 One of the most famous Senate filibusters occurred in 1957, when South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond held the Senate floor for more than 24 hours in an effort to block passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957. The filibuster ultimately failed, and the Act – though […]

GOP Blocks Voting Rights For 4th Time; It’s Time To Revise The Filibuster Rules & Protect Democracy

FRED WERTHEIMER’S WEEKLY NOTE | November 4, 2021 For the fourth time this year, Senate Republicans have blocked essential voting rights legislation. Yesterday, their obstructionism blocked consideration of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. They previously blocked consideration of the For the People Act in June and again in August, and then, in October, […]

Senate Republicans Block Consideration Of John Lewis Voting Rights Measure – Marking Fourth Time This Year They’ve Prevented Senate Consideration Of Vital Voting Rights Legislation

Statement of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer For the fourth time this year, Senate Republicans have blocked essential voting rights legislation. Today, their obstructionism blocked consideration of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. They previously blocked consideration of the For the People Act in June and again in August, and then, in October, they […]