Bernie Sanders is
taking the fight to restore complete Voting Rights to the republicans. He says that republicans should be ashamed that they have refused to consider legislation to restore parts of the Voting Rights Act that have been gutted since enactment of the act in 1965 in order to preserve their majorities.
What can we do? Congress must restore the Voting Rights Act's "pre-clearance" provision, which extended protections to minority voters in states where they were clearly needed. Then we must expand the Act's scope so that every American, regardless of skin color or national origin, is able to vote freely.
I have introduced legislation to make Election Day a national holiday, but that's just a start. We must make early voting an option for voters who work or study and need the flexibility to vote on evenings or weekends. We must make no-fault absentee ballots an option for all Americans.
Every American over 18 must be registered to vote automatically, so that students and working people can make their voices heard at the ballot box. We must put an end to discriminatory laws and the purging of minority-community names from voting rolls. We need to make sure that there are sufficient polling places and poll workers to prevent long lines from forming at the polls anywhere. We need to fight dishonest practices that keep people from voting through deception or fear. We need to restore voting rights to people who have served their debt to society.
This should be an interesting fight to have before the 2016 election. What arguments could the republicans use to avoid looking like they are trying to restrict voting?
Text of bill is Here (pdf) H/T to Addison in comments!