Rep. Mondaire Jones: Voting Rights Bill H.R. 1 Is of "Foundational Importance" to U.S. Democracy

The House of Representatives has approved sweeping legislation protecting the right to vote with the For the People Act, which has been described as the most sweeping pro-democracy bill in decades. The legislation is aimed at improving voter registration and access to voting, ending partisan and racial gerrymandering, forcing the disclosure of dark money donors, increasing public funding for candidates, and imposing strict ethical and reporting standards on members of Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court. The bill, which comes amid a nationwide attack on voting rights in courthouses and statehouses, is heading to the Senate, where it is expected to die unless all 50 Senate Democrats unite to end the filibuster. Democratic Congressmember Mondaire Jones of New York says H.R. 1 is of foundational importance" to preserving U.S. democracy against Republican attacks on voting. The modern-day Republican Party cannot compete on the merits of its policy ideas," says Jones. Rather, it is seeking to disenfranchise large swaths of the American electorate, especially Black and Hispanic people in Southern states."