Stacey Abrams has a name for the series of bills that just passed the Georgia state legislature: “Jim Crow in a suit and tie.” Abrams joins the Mother Jones Podcast to explain why your right to vote is once again under attack—perhaps more so now than it has been in generations. Donald Trump’s big election fraud lie sparked a deluge of voter suppression efforts across the country. Over the past two months, GOP legislatures have pushed 253 new voting restrictions in 43 states. Under the guise of “election integrity,” these restrictions run the gamut: enacting voter ID laws, limiting early voting, repealing no-excuse early voting, and purging voter rolls. The Roberts Supreme Court has gutted the section of the Voting Rights Act that would protect against voter suppression in states with long histories of voter discrimination. HR 1, the so-called “For the People” bill, could put crucial voting rights protections back in place. It’s the most ambitious democracy reform bill since the Voting Rights Act of 1965. But right now, it remains unlikely that it will ever pass the Senate. Why? Because of the filibuster. Mother Jones voting rights reporter Ari Berman joins Jamilah King to talk through the contents of HR 1, the issues with the filibuster, and how Republicans are benefitting from minority rule to further curtail democracy. The 2020 election might be over, but voting rights are still very much at risk.
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