There is much ado lately about protecting our elections from fraud, despite the fact that recounts and multiple court cases prove that the 2020 election was squeaky-clean. There is also much ado by some states that they, not the federal government, control how elections should be handled. Not so. The Constitution affirms that “…the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such (state) Regulations.”
In 1870, Congress added the 15th Amendment to the Constitution guaranteeing that “the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” In that same amendment, it provided that “the Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”
Today’s Congress must use that power now and sideline the filibuster in order to protect the fundamental right in any Democracy: the right of the people to choose their leaders. Is the filibuster sacred? Hardly. It never was part of the Constitution or Senate rules, but was introduced by Southern congressmen after the Civil War to obstruct the civil rights of Black citizens…all the more reason to prevent the filibuster from blocking the Freedom to Vote Act.
Thankfully, our New York senators, Schumer and Gillibrand, see clearly on this issue.
Doris Chorny
Publishing history:
Hudson Valley One 1/26/22
