Thread by @rickhasen

Got something coming soon to @washingtonpost @PostOutlook on H.R. 1 that I think will displease everyone. You're welcome.

My new one @WashingtonPost @PostOutlook: Are
Democrats going to blow it again on voting rights? It sure looks like they could by selling H.R. 1 as the only way to combat new Republican voter suppression. washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/0…

Democrats are not going to blow up the filibuster for a bill that won't even get 50 votes. We need a narrower bill that would provide reason enough to blow up the filibuster for voting reform.

What should be in a narrower bill?
✅ Restore preclearance provisions of VRA
✅ Voting rights protections like early voting period
✅ End partisan gerrymandering with commissions
✅ Paper ballots and election security measures

Such a narrower bill is more likely than the 791-page H.R. 1, which also does major campaign finance reform, including public financing, Supreme Court ethics reform, and much more. Many of these things are worthy but will break Democratic coalition.

The situation with H.R. 1 reminds me of 2006, when Dems and good government groups would not revise the Voting Rights Act when many of us warned it could be struck down if coverage formula wasn't tweaked.

Democrats rolled the dice and left Voting Rights Act as is, leading Supreme Court to kill a key part of it in the Shelby County case in 2013.

The danger is that we won't get H.R. 1 and we won't get ANYTHING done to deal with new wave of voter suppression, and we can no longer count on courts to do the right thing.

It is almost inexplicable to me that Democrats are pushing H.R. 1 before they'd push the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act, which would restore preclearance and do a LOT to protect voting rights in 2022 and 2024