That is why the extraordinary letters from members of Congress and Harris County officials are so important. These elected officials made clear that like their constituents, they are not prioritizing the development of legal precedent, but are demanding more litigation to fight for the right to vote.
President Biden said, “This is the moment to decide to defend our elections, to defend our democracy.” The Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act is the law we need at this moment. History will be watching.
On Jan. 6, 2021, armed insurrectionists breached the Capitol to prevent Congress from certifying the results of the election. If we are to remain a democracy, we must be clear in our words and steadfast in our actions to prevent this in the future.
The events of Jan. 6 were neither the end of the Trump era nor a precursor to 2024. Instead, they were the continuation of a multi-year plan for Republicans to maintain majority power with a shrinking share of popular support.
The Senate being the Senate and Republicans being Republicans, it was always going to come down to this: Democrats alone need to save democracy. The time is now. There is no time left to waste.
Despite evidence that Republicans are preparing to subvert the results of future elections, too many Democrats remain focused on other things. While Republicans are united on a forward-looking strategy to attack democracy, Democrats’ attention is scattered.
Once citizens lose their sense of outrage, democracy is doomed. When we tolerate less free and less fair elections in order to achieve political victories, a vital part of democracy is lost for good.
Discussing the threats to democracy without reference to partisanship is like describing Jim Crow without referring to race. States don’t enact voter suppression laws in a vacuum — Republican politicians enact these laws over the objections of Democrats.
Last week was the anniversary of Trump’s election defeat and the beginning of the Big Lie. But today I’m thinking of a different anniversary — the five-year anniversary of how our national nightmare began.
Republicans have an election fraud problem. No matter how hard they look, they can’t seem to find any. Republican legislatures across the country have enacted new voting laws aimed at making ordinary activities illegal, thereby manufacturing fraud where none exists.
