The Importance Of Enacting Voting Rights Legislation. On Martin Luther King Day, Democratic Perspective welcomes Mark Robert Gordon to discuss the ongoing struggle for equal access to voting. Gordon is an attorney who specializes in election law and represents Arizona as an elected member of the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Gordon begins by noting that the issue of equal access to voting rights didn’t end in the Sixties. “We’re still fighting for these things we thought were the goals we accomplished of making us a more perfect union…and now here we are again. Fighting the same battles.” Asked why anyone would fight against voting rights, he responds, “They’re seeking power.” He says it’s more important to them than our ideals.
As to why Senator Sinema would not vote to change the filibuster in order to pass voting rights legislation, Gordon says, “Our senior senator’s viewpoint is she believes the filibuster is important as a tool because one day we will be in the minority in the Senate. And there are things that we will need to be able to have our stance against.” But Gordon believes there’s a growing dissatisfaction with the ways of old, saying “…the idea of supporting something that stalls democracy and stalls progress is anathema. It’s a blockage to what we believe should be happening. And that’s why we’re getting pushback within our own Party.”
He notes that there have been carveouts of the filibuster that have been made for different purposes by the Republicans. “There should be one thing that both parties unite about,” he says. “And that’s making sure that the system is sound. And to make sure the electoral system and the confidence of the American people in that system is sound. We’ve got to enact some of this voting rights legislation.”
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