AOC implores action against GOP voting rights rollback
‘The time to fight like hell for democracy is right now,’ tweets congresswoman
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has warned that Republicans are laying the groundwork to overturn election results in the near future.
The New York Democrat sounded the alarm over the Democratic Party’s plan to “out-organise” GOP-authored laws that restrict ballot access, in a tweet posted on Monday.
“Communities cannot ‘out-organise’ voter suppression when those they organise to elect won’t protect the vote,” Ms Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. “Even if they do out-organise, the ground is being set to overturn results.”
“The time to fight like hell for democracy is right now,” she added. “We may not get another chance.”
Ms Ocasio-Cortez was responding to a New York Times report that civil rights activists are increasingly concerned about the White House’s lack of federal action to protect voters.
Communities cannot “out-organize” voter suppression when those they organize to elect won’t protect the vote.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 26, 2021
& Even if they DO out-organize, the ground is being set to overturn results.
The time to fight like hell for democracy is right now. We may not get another chance. #HR1 https://t.co/ePFJNMVlHD
The report said that in “private calls” with activists, White House officials had expressed confidence that it is possible to “out-organise voter suppression”.
Biden has called new GOP election laws “Jim Crow on steroids” and described them as the biggest challenge American democracy has faced since the Civil War, reports Business Insider.
But liberals are frustrated that his actions are not matching the rhetoric, as he has not called for reforms of the Senate filibuster to pass voting-rights legislation.
In a CNN town hall, Biden reiterated his opposition to getting rid of the filibuster, saying that doing so would “throw the entire Congress into chaos and nothing will get done”.
Last week, more than 150 civil rights groups appealed together to the White House for Mr Biden’s help passing the For The People Act, which seeks to “set a basic federal foundation for voting access for all Americans”.
“We cannot and should not have to organise our way out of the attacks and restrictions on voting that lawmakers are passing and proposing at the state level,” the groups said in a letter on 22 July.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments