By Elias Weiss | Phoenix New Times
A lawsuit, a march, and a pair of bills before the U.S. Senate. That could be all that stands between Arizona and sweeping voting rights legislation.
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The Grand Canyon State features front and center in broiling battle over voting rights.
Arizona’s senior U.S. senator, as well as special interest groups, spoke out Thursday in favor of the Freedom to Vote Act and the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act.
Arizona GOP Representative David Schweikert voted alongside every other House Republican in opposing the John R. Lewis Act. But House Democrats have faith it’ll pass.
Together, the twin bills would ensure two weeks of early voting, automate voter registration, pre-pay postage on mail-in ballots provided to all who want them, and tighten the leash on politicians looking to gerrymander or purge eligible voters from the rolls.
But Republican senators have sustained a filibuster.
The Senate filibuster is a congressional parliamentary rule employed by at least 41 senators – a minority unified to block legislation across the aisle. For Republicans, the tool has been effective in subduing Democrats’ push for voting legislation to the debate stage. But that might not hold up much longer.
