Urge Michigan U.S. Senators to be CHAMPIONS of FOR THE PEOPLE ACT & END the Filibuster
By MUUSJN on Wednesday, July 14th, 2021
Call Senator Debbie Stabenow: 202-224-4822 & Senator Gary Peters: 202-224-6221
Urge Them to be Champions of S.1, For The People Act & to End the Filibuster
BACKGROUND: The rights of voters in Michigan, like in many other states, are under assault from right wing legislators who are working to make it more difficult instead of making it easier to vote. It’s part of a national effort to suppress the vote based on “the big lie” that the 2020 Presidential election was “stolen”.
Members of the Texas legislature bucked the tide of passing voter suppression bills by leaving the state so the Texas legislature could not get a quorum to adopt 11 controversial bills that included: excluding transgender students from sports teams, attacking “critical race theory” and several bills that would have expanded restrictions on the right to vote. These Texas legislators flew to Washington D.C. and have been appealing to members of Congress. They’re urging Senators to protect voting rights in all states by adopting the “For the People Act” and ending the filibuster that requires a supermajority of 60 votes to pass most legislation. For more information on this pro democracy Texas rebellion click HERE to read an article from the July 13th issue of VOX. Let’s honor Texas resistance and stand up for democracy!
The League of Women Voters describes S. 1 as a reform bill that the American people want and deserve. It addresses some of the most pressing issues of our democracy by:
- Cleaning up our political system;
- Getting big money out of politics;
- Holding elected officials accountable for corruption;
- Expanding and protecting voting rights; and
- Creating a democracy that is representative of all Americans voices and values.
REASONS TO END THE FILIBUSTER:
(Source: Tonya Jacobi, a Law Professor at the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law in Chicago, published in the Daily Labor Report, February 22, 2021)
- The filibuster allows a minority of Senators to delay or stop a vote on reforms that are popular with the American people, e.g., voting rights, criminal justice reform, and presidential ethics;
- The main tradition of the filibuster was to prevent civil rights protections for decades while African Americans were being lynched for trying to exercise their basic rights; and
- There’s nothing in the U.S. Constitution that requires super-majority voting in Congress. In fact, the filibuster was a House invention that was abolished in 1841.
Call Senator Debbie Stabenow: 202-224-4822 & Senator Gary Peters: 202-224-6221
Urge Them to be Champions of S.1, For The People Act & to End the Filibuster
Category: News |