Dear Editor: More Talk than Action

To the Editor:

Between January 1 and September 27 of this year, at least 19 states enacted 33 laws that make it harder for Americans to vote—and more will come out of GOP-held state legislatures unless we end the filibuster and protect our voting rights.

So far, I’ve seen more talk than action in the way President Biden has handled our voting rights crisis. He’s advocated for voting rights legislation and asked Congress to take action, but he failed to do one very obvious thing needed to win this fight: support ending the filibuster.

The Jim Crow filibuster is the biggest obstacle standing in the way of passing critical legislation like the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. Neither of these bills will even be debated in the Senate as long as the filibuster remains.

If Biden actually wants the Senate to pass voting rights bills, he needs to use his influence as president to get the Senate to abolish the filibuster. Anything less is a failure of leadership.

Regards,

Janie Payne

Butte, Montana