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Washington– The inauguration of Joe Biden as President of the United States a year ago did not end the controversy and controversy over the 2020 vote and elections, towards which the positions of the Republican and Democratic parties contradict.
The 2020 elections witnessed exceptional circumstances due to the consequences of the spread and spread of the Corona epidemic and the consequent adoption of precautionary measures that prompted an increase in voting rates by mail and an increase in early voting periods.
Over the past year, Republican-controlled legislatures in 19 states have adopted laws that the White House has seen as an attempt to block voting by minorities, most of whose votes traditionally go to the Democratic Party.
The Democratic-majority House of Representatives succeeded in passing two legislation, the Freedom of Voting Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, last August, but the two legislations were blocked in the Senate, which has 100 seats between the two parties.
US President Joe Biden has called for Senate rules to be changed to allow passage of minority voting rights legislation, especially in states controlled by Republican officials.
Al Jazeera presents in a question and answer about the details of this important controversy on the American scene:
What is the main source of disagreement between the two parties over the reform of voting systems?
The two parties agree on the need to reform the voting system, method, and procedures, but each party views the crisis from an angle opposite to what the other party sees. Each party demands the adoption of an electoral reform package that claims to target the integrity and credibility of the electoral process, but its essence aims to support the chances of each party’s candidates in future elections.
Democrats want to expand and facilitate voter registration and facilitate the voting process itself through legislation passed by the House of Representatives last August, giving the federal authority broader powers in managing the electoral process.
Whereas Republicans believe that the power to administer elections rests with the states (they have a majority in most state legislatures), and Congress should not impose additional laws on them, and they see this as an incursion of federal power.
What is the Democrats’ vision for electoral reform?
The Democrats, through their congressional majority, are seeking to impose binding state laws that allow electoral reform and hand the division of congressional districts to independent, nonpartisan bodies, while also controlling illegal funding for candidates.
Democratic legislation would expand opportunities to vote by mail, require states to develop electronic voter applications that facilitate the registration of new voters, and give the Department of Justice more authority to enforce the Voting Rights Act.
Democrats believe that the voting process should be simple, comfortable and fair for all, that the number of early voting days be increased, and that voting should be allowed in the evenings and weekends.
Democrats are also demanding that states take major steps to ensure that all polling stations have enough voting machines and staff on polling day to reduce waiting times, and that means allocating appropriate funding to do so.
What is the Republican vision for electoral reform?
Despite the tripartite loss of the Republicans (the White House and the majority of both houses of Congress), they control the majority of the legislatures in most US states, and each state administers its elections in a decentralized manner, and local councils make the laws and procedures that are followed in state elections.
Republican-led local legislatures are changing election laws in ways that could make it harder for minorities and the poor to vote.
Observers consider the Republican amendments to respond explicitly to the 2020 election, citing public concerns about election security, concerns generated by the misinformation that then-President Donald Trump spread as he attempted to cancel the election.
What is Biden’s position on the election reform legislation?
Biden stressed – in a speech in Atlanta, Georgia – the need to find a way to pass the bill in the Senate, in reference to changing the rule for passing legislation in the Senate to become by a majority of +50 instead of a majority of 60 votes.
The majority of 60 votes required to pass the legislation now gives the Republican minority the right to block the law with a “Filibuster”, after the legislation passed the House of Representatives last August. The Republican obstruction can be overcome by a majority of 60 votes, which the Democratic Party does not currently have.
What are the chances of success of Biden’s moves?
After Biden pledged to change the Senate’s rules of procedure, Democratic Senator Kirstin Senema from Arizona on Thursday fired a bomb, and hammered a nail in the coffin of Democrats’ hopes to amend Senate rules by announcing her rejection of any moves to modify Senate procedures to pass legislation as Biden wants .
Cinema has voiced support for the Democratic Party’s ballot reform legislation, but opposes changing Senate rules and wants minority views to be respected. Neither the White House nor the Democrats can move the legislation in the Senate without all the votes of the 50 Democratic senators.
Can Biden resort to the “nuclear option”?
The nuclear option is intended to amend the Senate’s bylaws so that legislation is passed with a mechanism of +50 votes, but Senator Cinema’s position eliminates these aspirations, as the legislation will be rejected by 51 votes against the approval of only 49 members.
Does Biden have any mechanism to pass the Senate voting law?
In his speech in Atlanta, President Joe Biden took a position that Republicans considered the most aggressive since he came to power, saying that “the next few days, when these bills are voted on, will be a turning point in the history of this nation, and the question is: will we choose democracy or tyranny” Justice or injustice?
While Biden’s strong stance in favor of “disruption mechanism” reform is a significant milestone in the evolution of the president’s vision on the issue, it is unlikely to change the difficult legislative reality for Democrats.
Early in his rule, Biden seemed reluctant to push for changes to the Senate’s rules, but he changed his mind in the face of Republican opposition to the Freedom of Voting Act. However, Senator Cinema’s persistence as it is is killing the legislation in a big way.
What is the impact of the current debate on the map of partisan influence?
The biggest goal of the two parties from what is currently happening is their victory in the upcoming elections, whether for Congress in 2022 or the presidency in 2024. Legislative proposals passed by 19 states push a preference for Republicans in one way or another, while giving Democrats’ ideas related to voting system reform to increase the popular vote for the party.
Democrats fear losing the majority of the House and Senate in the congressional renewal elections next November, as is widely expected, and that would paralyze President Biden’s domestic agenda.
This would allow Republicans to disrupt Biden’s agenda, which greatly affects bills related to health care, climate change, gun rights, immigration, and many other issues.
Democratic supporters say the disruption has been blatantly misused, undermining the Senate’s effectiveness, and they believe Republicans will use it to block anything Biden has tried to achieve.
But critics in both parties warn that ending the blocking mechanism would damage the Senate as an institution and allow the majority to sideline the other party.
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