Congressmen Propose The Mother Of All Voting Rights Protections

[DonViejo]

HUNTER WALKER MAY 27, 2013, 1:31 PM 204
A pair of Democratic congressmen is pushing an amendment that would place an affirmative right to vote in the U.S. Constitution. According to Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI), who is sponsoring the legislation along with Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), the amendment would protect voters from what he described as a “systematic” push to “restrict voting access” through voter ID laws, shorter early voting deadlines, and other measures that are being proposed in many states.

“Most people believe that there already is something in the Constitution that gives people the right to vote, but unfortunately … there is no affirmative right to vote in the Constitution. We have a number of amendments that protect against discrimination in voting, but we don’t have an affirmative right,” Pocan told TPM last week. “Especially in an era … you know, in the last decade especially we’ve just seen a number of these measures to restrict access to voting rights in so many states. … There’s just so many of these that are out there, that it shows the real need that we have.”

The brief amendment would stipulate that “every citizen of the United States, who is of legal voting age, shall have the fundamental right to vote in any public election held in the jurisdiction in which the citizen resides.” It would also give Congress “the power to enforce and implement this article by appropriate legislation.”

After investigating the issue, Pocan said he and Ellison decided this type of amendment was the best way to combat measures to restrict voting access.

full article
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2013/05/constitutional-amendment-fight-voter-id-laws.php?ref=fpb

[BlueCaliDem]

1. Agreed. There should be a U.S. Constitutional Amendment for the right to vote to combat and

defeat this sudden feverishness by the Republicans who are trying to find ways to strip certain people - Blacks, Latinos, poor, Asians, ex-cons who have served their time {usually Blacks and Latinos}, and the elderly, etc., of their right to choose their political party to represent them.

On a Federal level, an amendment like this would be significant and it would stop ALEC-drafted vote-suppressing state laws when Republicans gerrymander enough states {Texas is a good example} and retain full power in state governments. Another glaring reason why Libertarians {Republicans under another name} and Republicans are so pro-state's rights. It's easier for their moneyed corporate masters to control the outcome that benefits them the most.

[Blue Owl]

2. Lets slip in some legislation while we're at it

No electronic systems, paper and hand counts only...

[Scuba]

3. +1,000

[BadgerKid]

11. You beat me to my sarcastic version:

"Next thing you know, people will demand accurate elections."

[cascadiance]

13. Perhaps get instant runoff voting added too?

I really think that is needed to both empower third parties, and good Democrats who DO work for the people and don't need to rely on the "less evil" votes to win elections, and will be helped if a third party can be voted on and not damage their chances to win against a bad right winger.

And don't know if we could "sneak in" public campaign financing, but that would also be a big and necessary change at some point.

Might be too much to try and do this time around to get this through. But it is something to consider.

Also wonder if states would still be allowed to limit access to voting to people like felons who've done their time?

Maybe even institutionalize something like vote-by-mail (or at least that as an option everywhere), since now Colorado looks to be joining Washington and Oregon as exclusively vote-by-mail states and so many others have absentee ballot vote by mail options. And make sure that they are counted too with all of the other votes and not "left until later".

[freedom fighter jh]

19. +1

maybe call it the right to vote and have your vote be counted.

Or the right to vote and to see the person who got the greatest number of legitimate votes actually get into office.

[elehhhhna]

26. "voter-verified paper ballot as the ballot of record"

andy drilled that into me so many years aog.

Maybe float the ERA, while we're at it? Const doesn't specifically grant women's rights, either - as "justice" scumlia reminded us recently

[Volaris]

30. And make Federal Election Day a National Holiday--you HAVE to have time off to vote if you choose.

[Bannakaffalatta]

4. makes sense

Of course, it would be less cluttered to strike down all the unconstitutional regulation recently imposed by various states, but that would take a long, difficult time.
I hope the amendment also includes proper notification of changes and physical access to polling stations.

[meow2u3]

5. Now repukes are put in a position to find a pretext...

...for opposing the affirmative right to vote.

This is how you expose reTHUGS as the tyrants they are. If they vote no on the proposed amdendment, they're have to explain themselves to their constituents and hope most of them aren't wise to their hostility to equal voting rights under the law.

[Exen Trik]

6. Exactly

Don't doubt that they'll still find a way to vote against it though. You can't shame someone into doing the right thing if they have no shame to begin with. I suppose their strategy will be avoid talking about it. Sadly, I expect the media to go along with that.

[pnwmom]

7. They will say

that the amendment as written would include violent criminals in prison.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

18. There are other countries (I believe) that allow their inmates to vote

Inmates- assuming that they are not on some kind of restriction/precaution- get to participate in various activities while incarcerated. Why should anybody really not be allowed to vote? IMHO restrictions need to be based on something a little more significant than simple personal distaste.

I know that Republicans will whip up all kinds of *concerns* to defeat a proposed amendment like this.

[pnwmom]

22. All inmates? Even murderers?

My guess is that there has to be some line drawn if this proposal is to get enough support. It takes 3/4 of the legislatures to approve a constitutional amendment. I don't see how we'd get that if we included murderers or serial rapists, but maybe I'm wrong.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

23. The Amendment under discussion does not seem to draw any "lines"

However, politically, yes, "lines" would almost certainly need to be drawn in order to secure passage.

[freedom fighter jh]

20. And maybe it should!

What's the reasoning for taking away criminals' right to vote?

Prisoners are among the governed; by what justification do they lose their right to help choose the government?

[pnwmom]

21. If you're seriously saying a murderer deserves the right to vote

you'll have a tough time getting that Amendment passed.

[freedom fighter jh]

24. Why does a murderer not have the right to vote? nt

[pnwmom]

25. An argument can and would be made

that a murderer forfeits the right to vote when he breaks the social contract in such a grievous and permanent way.

Whatever you may think about the argument, I don't think we'd ever get 3/4 of the legislatures to pass an amendment that extended the right to vote to murderers.

[freedom fighter jh]

27. I can agree on your second point.

Maybe the murderer argument should be left for another day, if it threatens to hold the voting rights amendment hostage.

[Mr.Bill]

29. There won't be a vote.

This will never get out of committee as long as Republicans control the house, unfortunately.

[chuckstevens]

8. Be RUTHLESS when the GOP Votes against this

I want them to be on record stating that they don't feel voting is a basic American right.
I want the GOP to explain why they say they love "freedom", but don't want people to actually practice it.
I want the Republic party's "War on Democracy" to be exposed for the whole nation to see.
Finally, I want the corporate America's hold over the GOP to be seen for what it is: the REAL threat to our Democracy and they type of tyranny that the Founding Fathers were trying to prevent.

Who is it that loves America?

[rhett o rick]

9. The Republican argument is that people are too stupid to vote,

and it's hard to argue that point with those making it.

[99th_Monkey]

10. This, and reversing Citizens United.

Might put this democracy back in the "functional" category, where
it hasn't been ever since the presidency was stolen from Al Gore.

[NYC Liberal]

12. Good idea, bad wording.

The amendment says citizens "shall have the fundamental right to vote".

It should say "the fundamental right to vote shall not be infringed".

The first implies that the amendment is granting the right to vote, whereas the second protects a right that exists independent of the amendment or the constitution. If you look at other amendments that protect rights, you'll see similar passive wording:

-----------------------------------
"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 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 sex."

"The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax."

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated"

"the right of trial by jury shall be preserved"

"The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age."
-----------------------------------

[blkmusclmachine]

14. Who's watching the black boxes tabulating the votes?

Just don't trust those things. And with good reason.

[ElizabethWarren2016]

15. The right to vote is on the hit list.

There's gotta be some way to enforce austerity on an unwilling populace in order to give more of their money to the super-rich donors.

[Kablooie]

16. The stated amendment doesn't allow for any limitations to voting.

Currently there are limitations such as convicted criminals and the mentally deficient.
Shouldn't these be accounted for in the amendment?

[66 dmhlt]

17. A DAMN good start!

[nikto]

28. The GOP...

Will work like madmen to stop this.
It is everything the GOP hates and feels threatened by.

And well they should.