Stacey Abrams says she supports Manchin's voting rights compromise
From NEWS.YAHOO.COM
Activist and former Georgia gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams said she “absolutely” could support Sen. Joe Manchin’s, D-W. Va., compromise proposal on voting rights.
“What Sen. Manchin is putting forward are some basic building blocks that we need to ensure that democracy is accessible no matter your geography,” the Georgia Democrat said Thursday during an interview with CNN, “and those provisions that he’s setting forth are strong ones that will create a level playing field, will create standards that do not vary from state to state and I think will ensure that every American has improved access to vote despite the onslaught of state legislation seeking to restrict access to the right to vote.”
Manchin’s office circulated a three-page memo outlining his voting rights proposal after writing earlier this month that he didn’t support the For the People Act, a sweeping piece of legislation on voting, elections and campaign finance that passed the House in March. The West Virginian said he thinks a voting rights bill passed along party lines would “destroy the already weakening binds of our democracy.”
Key provisions in Manchin’s proposal include mandating an early voting period and eliminating partisan gerrymandering in an attempt to get fair legislative maps, in addition to making Election Day a federal holiday and increasing access to absentee balloting. However, Manchin’s proposal also backed a couple of provisions typically opposed by Democrats, including increased voter ID requirements and allowing local election officials to purge voting rolls.
When asked about the voter ID provision, Abrams said, “That’s one of the fallacies of Republican talking points that have been deeply disturbing. No one has ever objected to having to prove who you are to vote. It’s been part of our nation’s history since the inception of voting. What has been problematic is the kind of restrictive IDs we’ve seen pop up,” pointing to states that make it more difficult for Native Americans and students to vote.
Abrams has become one of the nation’s leading advocates for increased voting rights following a conte... (Read more)
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