The heated debate on the foundations of American democracy begins tomorrow in the US Senate. Republicans are changing local election laws across the country. And the Democrats who see this as undermining democracy. The purpose of the debate is ‘fair election’, but the two parties represent something completely different.

Democrats have proposed two new laws to ensure equal access to the ballot for all. But despite a majority in Congress, they have not been able to pass those laws. Two senators from their own camp are in favor of the amendments, but they are blocking the way they should be passed.

So President Biden has been on the offensive since the beginning of this month. He says the United States is engaged in a “war for the soul of the nation” and that Republicans are confused. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said it was cruel from an “irresponsible and annoying president.”

Emphasis is placed on those harsh words on Martin Luther King Jr. today, the national holiday of the United States. Part of King’s struggles in the 1950s and ’60s were about the equal right of minorities to participate in the democratic process. According to many black Americans, it is Promised land The king now saw that he was being blocked again by the Republicans.

Changes in 19 states

Because that is the concern of the Democrats. After the 2020 presidential election, the story in the Republican Party is that there was massive fraud in those elections. That claim has been refuted in dozens of cases, including by senior officials in the Trump administration, Biden’s predecessor, which has been called a lie.

Yet in 2021 this story led to action in many places in the United States. Nineteen states, with Republican majorities in state legislatures, have changed electoral rules and passed legislative changes.

For example, postal voting and the way voters identify themselves are restricted. The number of polling stations will also be reduced. Measures to lower turnout: Contemptible Voter repression. It affects Democrats, especially poor Americans and minorities such as blacks.

Invalidate

Also, the manner in which election results are determined is changing in many states. In Arizona, for example, a majority in the state legislature now invalidates the decision. In Georgia, a committee appointed by parliament is responsible for this. Republicans have a majority in both state parliaments. Democrats say this is how party interests come to be between the voter and the election results.

Reporter Marike de Vries was in Georgia last weekend, the cradle of the US civil rights movement. Ballot access meetings are being held again these days: