Democracy In The US: Citizens United On Chopping Block As Democrats Push Election Reform

President Joe Biden has said he intends to sign an election reform bill that makes voting easier and overturns some elements Democrats say have corrupted elections, such as gerrymandering and the Citizens United ruling. While Republicans’ staunch opposition makes passing the Senate a tough prospect, the bill will have Biden’s approval if Democrats can manage it, Reuters reported Thursday.

The bill passed the House on Wednesday by a margin of only 10 votes. It contains a wide variety of voting reforms that Democrats have long sought.

According to The Hill, the bill includes the following:

• Overturning the Citizens United Supreme Court decision
• Putting new restrictions on coordination between campaigns and super PACs
• Calling for independent commissions to create voting districts, pushing back against partisans gerrymandering
• Requiring at least 15 days of early voting
• Calling for online and same-day voter registration
• Allowing for automatic voter registration
• Making Election Day a federal holiday
• Allocating additional funding for defense against foreign interference

Republicans have denounced the measure because they believe it hurts their chances of winning elections. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., singled out the possibility of automatic voter registration.

“H.R. 1 would weaken the security of our elections and make it harder to protect against voter fraud,” he said. “It would automatically register voters from DMV and other government databases. Voting is a right, not a mandate.”

McCarthy did not elaborate on his position, instead noting that the law could be used to prevent officials from removing ineligible voters from registration rolls.

An earlier version of the bill passed the House in 2020, with no Republican support. It was never brought to a vote when the Senate was controlled by then-Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

The bill could have a hard time getting the 60 votes needed to bypass an inevitable Republican filibuster.