US Electoral Reform – Biden calls for breaking taboos for electoral promise

US President Joe Biden announced that reforming the electoral law is one of the most important goals of his presidency. Problem: In the Senate, he also needs the support of some Republicans — and they are adamantly opposed. To break the resistance, Biden and many Democrats want to change the voting rules. A delicate task, explains SRF correspondent Matthias Kundig.

SRF News: On actual electoral reform: What’s the problem when different states have different electoral laws?

Matthias Kundig: This means that in some places it’s hard to vote at all, especially for minorities like blacks and indigenous people, but also for the lower social classes. Because Election Day in the United States is always constitutionally a Tuesday, that is, a business day. For many who work on an hourly wage, this is a major hurdle. Because only in some liberal states could people vote by mail or cast their ballots in earlier days. In some conservative states, a special permit must first be obtained and a doctor’s certificate or confirmation from an employer is required.

Legend:

Kundig explains that there are also regions in the United States with few ballot boxes. This means that people have to travel long distances and possibly wait in front of the ballot box for hours. This also prevents many people from voting.”

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So there are countries that have significant obstacles that prevent people from exercising their basic democratic right. In Republican-led states, these hurdles have increased last year.

The project has been stuck in the Senate for months, where Republicans have a blocking minority. With the so-called disruption, they prevent any discussion of electoral law reform at all. What is the idea behind this disruption?

The original goal was to ensure that the bills were widely supported and that the majority party could not simply ignore the opposition’s concerns. This worked for decades, when there was still a willingness to work together in the US Congress and moderates in both parties were more important. For a long time, the disable tool was rarely used.

Legend:

According to Dowden, “disruption” is an old word for hackers or revolutionaries. However, in the United States, procrastination is not a person, but a process in the Senate. The constant talk minority is delaying or blocking the deal.

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But in the past twenty years, the polarization has sharply increased, the obligatory factions have become more important and the moderates have lost weight. This is why both parties—when in the role of opposition—continually block every project of the majority party with procrastination, or nip it in its bud. As a result, Congress is hardly able to address urgent reform projects at all. So there is a huge deadlock in Congress.

Legend:

Biden will deliver a keynote speech on his reform plans today. Kundig says this is important as a signal to black voters to whom he owes his election victory. “She has always been pushing for electoral reform. In his speech, Biden said: “I take your concerns very seriously and do everything in my power.”

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Can Democrats now cancel or suspend this stall for election law reform?

They can, because it only takes a simple 51-vote majority to change the rules in the Senate — eg to stipulate that the disruption does not apply to electoral reforms. But for now, two Democrats are blocking any changes to the disruption rules: Joe Manchin and Kirsten Senema. They warn against breaking taboos and fear that the rule of exception will inevitably lead to the complete abolition of procrastination.

This would allow Democrats to push all of their plans by a simple majority – but once Republicans gain a majority again, they can repeal all of these laws again immediately. This leads to instability and legal uncertainty.

Interviewed by Simon Holliger.