MSNBC Columnist Calls on Biden to Defund States That Restrict Voting Rights

As Republican legislatures astir the state proceed to marque beardown pushes to restrict voting rights––as they’ve done successful Georgia and Texas––MSNBC sentiment columnist Dean Obeidallah is calling connected President Joe Biden to defund states that bash conscionable that.

“When Republicans don’t similar what a authorities oregon section authorities is doing — from Covid-19-related mask mandates to teaching critical contention mentation successful schools — they person been known to chopped disconnected funding, oregon astatine slightest to endanger to bash so. It’s clip Democrats bash the aforesaid for voting rights, which are the lifeblood of our republic,” Obeidallah wrote.

Obeidallah recommends that Democrats “condition immoderate parts of the proposed $3.5 trillion spending bill, which is inactive being drafted, connected states’ agreeing to a nationalist modular for national elections.”

“A roadworthy representation for the types of measures that Democrats could necessitate are laid retired successful the For the People Act, specified arsenic azygous standards for aboriginal voting days and automatic elector registration,” helium says.

Obeidallah aboriginal notes that President Biden tin spell further, choosing to withhold national backing to states that restrict voting rights by enforcement bid “unless they enact a national voting standard.” He points retired that erstwhile President Donald Trump signed an enforcement bid withholding backing from cities and states that refused to cooperate with the Trump administration’s crackdown connected undocumented immigrants. (He points retired that the bid was upheld and struck down by antithetic national appeals courts.)

Obeidallah’s file comes arsenic the White House continues to dependable its enactment for the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and arsenic the House is acceptable to walk the measure on with different legislation.

“Some person sought to delegitimize the [November 2020] predetermination and marque it harder to vote, successful galore cases by targeting the methods of voting that made it imaginable for galore voters to participate,” the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) said successful a statement. “These efforts interruption the astir basal ideals of America.”