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By Alison Jones
Special to the Arizona Daily Star
On the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, 197 Republicans said it’s OK for the president to shake down a foreign government to help him cheat in another election. Then they said it’s OK to defy the Constitution and stonewall Congress when it investigates presidential misconduct.
Their fealty to Donald Trump shames the party that once stood for national security and the rule of law. More importantly, it threatens free and fair elections and the separation of powers — core principles of the democratic process.
House Resolution 1, the For the People Act, was the first order of business for Congress when it convened last January. The bill will clean up corruption in Washington, expose secret foreign money in our politics, crackdown on lobbying, ensure the right to vote and protect elections from foreign interference.
The bill also calls for a constitutional amendment to reverse the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, which opened the floodgates for dirty money in political campaigns. It restores funding for the Federal Elections Commission and establishes a test program for publicly financed congressional campaigns.
Like the other 275 House bills sitting on his desk, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, won’t allow a vote on HR 1. Democrats will keep trying, but it will be up to voters to break the logjam when they go to the polls in November.
Access to, and participation in, our democracy is a cornerstone issue of the first-ever platform of the Pima County Democratic Party, or PCDP.
Adopted in December, the platform explains where the PCDP stands on the most important issues facing Arizona, including steps we can take as a state to protect free and fair elections.
The platform calls for:
- Passing the Outlaw Dirty Money initiative — now being qualified for the 2020 ballot — to stop secret donors from corrupting state and local elections.
- Ending capricious ID requirements and restrictions on voting by convicted felons.
- Establishing satellite locations and allowing in-person early voting for indigenous voters.
- Recognizing tribal villages and districts for voter registration and ballot petitions.
- Improving access to voting for rural voters.
- Protecting Arizona’s Independent Redistricting Committee.
Republicans have made it clear where they stand — and why. The more people who vote, the less Republicans are likely to win.
But the vast majority of Americans — 80% in some polls — back legislation to fight corruption in our election system.
“There should be nothing partisan or political about empowering the American people and making sure that government works for them,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said.
PCDP’s platform is grounded in the belief that democracies succeed when their citizens understand, accept and act in accord with their civic responsibilities.
However, the United States has one of the lowest rates of participation in the democratic process. We must provide opportunities for civic engagement to all. We must defeat attempts to suppress participation in elections and other democratic activities. And we must make sure our electoral processes are fair, transparent and credible.
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