Democrat Abrams urges lifting filibuster for U.S. election reform bill
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[March 15, 2021]
By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Stacey Abrams, an
influential figure in Democratic circles, called on Sunday for the U.S.
Senate to exempt election reform legislation passed by the House of
Representatives over Republican opposition from a procedural hurdle
called the filibuster.
"Protection of democracy is so fundamental that it should be exempt from
the filibuster rules," Abrams, a former senior state legislator and
unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate in Georgia who helped Democrats win
two U.S. Senate runoff elections in her home state in January, told
CNN's "State of the Union" program.
The Democratic-led House on March 3 passed a bill intended to reform
voting procedures, increase voter participation and require states to
assign independent commissions the task of redrawing congressional
districts to guard against partisan manipulation.
There is a debate among Democrats, who narrowly control the Senate
thanks to the two Georgia victories, on whether to modify or even
eliminate the filibuster, a longstanding fixture that makes it so most
legislation cannot advance without 60 votes in the 100-seat Senate
rather than a simple majority.
The filibuster already has been scaled back and does not apply to
judicial or Cabinet appointments and some budgetary measures, Abrams
noted, so it should be suspended for the voting rights legislation.
Abrams, a former minority leader in the Georgia House of
Representatives, has emerged as a leading Democratic voice on voting
rights.
Democratic President Joe Biden has said he would sign the election
legislation into law if it is passed by Congress, but also has indicated
opposition to completely eliminating the filibuster.
The House-passed bill faces long odds in the Senate under current rules,
where all 48 Democrats and the two independents who caucus with them
would need to be joined by 10 of the 50 Republican senators to overcome
a filibuster.
Democrats have argued that the legislation is necessary to lower
barriers to voting and to make the U.S. political system more democratic
and responsive to the needs of voters. Republicans have said it would
take powers away from the states, and have promised to fight it if it
becomes law.
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Stacey Abrams speaks to the media about U.S. Senate runoff
elections outside St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Atlanta, Georgia,
U.S., January 5, 2021. REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage
Texas Governor Greg Abbott noted that he repeatedly sued Democratic
former President Barack Obama's administration over various policies
when he was the Texas attorney general. Abbott said would not
hesitate now to file a legal challenge against the election measure
if it is passed and Biden signs it.
"The strongest tool that we have is the litigation tool," Abbott
said on the Fox News "Sunday Morning Futures" program.
Speaking on the same program, U.S. Senator John Cornyn of Texas
added: "We'll fight this in the Senate and we'll fight this in the
courts, if necessary."
There was record turnout in the 2020 election, helped by mail-in
ballots heavily used by Democratic voters amid the COVID-19
pandemic.
Democrats have accused Republicans at the state level of pursuing
voter suppression laws for partisan advantage. Former President
Donald Trump made false claims that the 2020 election was stolen
from him though widespread voting fraud and irregularities. Since
then, Republicans have introduced measures in numerous state
legislatures that would limit voting access.
A bill passed by the Republican-controlled Georgia House this month,
for example, would restrict ballot drop boxes, tighten absentee
voting requirements and limit early voting on Sundays, curtailing
traditional "Souls to the Polls" voter turnout programs in Black
churches.
(Reporting by David Shepardson and Raphael Satter; Editing by
Heather Timmons and Will Dunham)
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