{"id":24937,"date":"2022-10-31T11:31:44","date_gmt":"2022-10-31T15:31:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/?p=24937"},"modified":"2022-10-31T18:58:58","modified_gmt":"2022-10-31T22:58:58","slug":"we-need-eca-reform-while-continuing-the-fight-for-voting-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/we-need-eca-reform-while-continuing-the-fight-for-voting-rights\/","title":{"rendered":"We Need ECA Reform While Also Fighting For Voting Rights"},"content":{"rendered":"

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell\u2019s endorsement of the Senate Electoral Count Act (ECA) reform proposal is a significant victory toward reforming the vaguely written 19th-century law that opened the door for those denying the results of the 2020 Presidential vote.\u00a0 And while it falls far short of the comprehensive approach UUSJ believes is needed to safeguard our democracy, such reform is needed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Indeed, the ECA proposals from the Senate and the House are the most viable legislative ways to help defend our democracy at this time. We need to reform the ECA now since we cannot assume that incoming members of the 118th Congress will be equally committed and invested in this needed reform. Or that they will see the implications of January 6, 2021, insurrection in the same way as those in the 117<\/span>th<\/span> Congress who lived through it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So UUSJ celebrates McConnell (R-KY) finally getting behind this bill while we continue to push for the larger goal of free and fair elections and safeguarding the right to vote.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We want an inclusive American democracy where \u201cthe inherent worth and dignity of every person\u201d is cherished — even in disagreement — and works alongside \u201cthe right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and society at large.\u201d And where we work \u201cto build a diverse, multicultural Beloved Community by our actions\u201d in alignment with the proposed 8th Principle, which UUSJ <\/span>adopted in 2021<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

UUSJ, through our Democracy Action Team (DAT), has been advocating for ECA reform throughout this year. The bill is aimed at ensuring that electoral tallies by Congress accurately reflect each state\u2019s popular Presidential vote. It also calls for clear procedures that maintain appropriate state and federal roles in selecting the President and Vice President, as outlined in the U.S. Constitution. (See our <\/span>key information page on the ECA<\/b><\/a>)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Enacted in 1887, the ECA contains numerous ambiguous provisions. As we saw in the run-up to January 6th, it is susceptible to bad actors \u2013 such as hyper-partisans — willing to disqualify or throw out the legally cast, legally-certified election results. And subvert and sabotage elections.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This time, a handful of elected officials and high-level staff \u2013 dubbed\u00a0 “team normal” — thwarted the convoluted legal arguments and potential further violence of the insurrection. We cannot count on this in the future.\u00a0 We know that \u00a060% of Americans will have election deniers on the ballot, and 199 of 552 Republican nominees fully deny the legitimacy of the 2020 election, according to <\/span>ABC News FiveThirtyEight<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 Other outlets find similar albeit less eye-popping figures.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We are deeply disappointed that Congress failed to comprehensively address voting rights and free and fair elections, despite our and other advocates\u2019 strong efforts throughout 2021, culminating with the vote on the Freedom To Vote: John R. Lewis Act in January 2022. We remain committed to voting rights and continue to raise a moral voice, underscoring what we named early on as Congress\u2019 “<\/span>devastating dereliction of duty<\/span><\/a>.”<\/span><\/p>\n

But a new Senate strategy for ensuring voting rights and free and fair elections has yet to emerge. A viable path forward to overcome the filibuster reticence of Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) remains unclear, along with any strategy to gain support for any of the 50 senators in the Republican Conference opposing the proposal.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the meantime, North Carolina\u2019s Moore v. Harper<\/span>\u00a0is barreling its way toward the U.S. Supreme Court, threatening to legitimize the independent state legislature theory and make things even worse. That is why we joined an amicus brief to our nation\u2019s highest court (<\/span>amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme court<\/span><\/a>) (Briefing RSVP 11\/16<\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

If we do not reform the ECA now, it may not happen till the next insurrection or coup attempt. Or worse, after a successful one.<\/span><\/p>\n

Janai S. Nelson, President, and Director-Counsel of the NAACP<\/b> Legal Defense Fund, recently underscored the need for immediate action at a hearing on the ECA bill held by Senate Committee on Rules and Administration. Link: \u201cElectoral Count Act: The Need for Reform\u201d (<\/span>written<\/span><\/a>)(<\/span>video<\/span><\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe violent Insurrection on January 6th, the growing threats of violence against election workers, burgeoning efforts to undermine fair vote counts in myriad ways, and the ongoing push to erect discriminatory barriers to the ballot in states across the country all have a common root cause: a white supremacist backlash to voters of color asserting power in the 2020 election.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Nelson added that to \u201cprevent another January 6th and bring our democracy back from the brink,\u201d Congress must do its part to stop widespread voting discrimination, voter suppression, racial gerrymandering, as well as violence and intimidation aimed at those voting. Measures that have \u201cfor centuries impeded Black and Brown Americans\u2019 voice and power.\u201d (Page 2)<\/span><\/p>\n

ECA reform is about countering election sabotage and subversion, which have real implications for marginalized voters, especially voters of color, poor voters, and likely progressive values voters.\u00a0 If our votes are not counted, we cannot fully exercise our right to vote. Fighting against election subversion and sabotage also combats voter suppression and safeguards our right to vote.<\/span><\/p>\n

As Nelson sees it, \u201cPreventing qualified voters from casting ballots, refusing to credit legitimate ballots, or substituting false electors all achieve the same result: an election outcome that fails to accurately reflect the will of the People.\u201d (Nelson, Page 3)<\/span><\/p>\n

This election may also reduce the ranks of any future \u201cteam normal.\u201d\u00a0 There are 260 candidates on ballots across the country who deny or question the results of the 2020 presidential election. And 122 more had no comment or avoided answering questions on the topic, according to <\/span>ABC News\u2019 FiveThirtyEight<\/span><\/a>. This means 382 of 552 candidates, or 69%, on the midterm ballots, can\u2019t be counted on to support needed reforms to the Electoral Count Act.\u00a0 And could endorse disproportionately targeting the same voters’ Nelson cites.<\/span><\/p>\n

We are relieved that Minority Leader McConnell has signed on to ECA reform. And we will continue fighting for an inclusive, healthy democracy. In a 50-50 Senate, nothing is assured or easy. The best we can expect at any given moment is what is probable.\u00a0 Yet,\u00a0 what is possible is grounded in our determination and dream for a better democracy and our willingness to live our faith for an inclusive democracy.<\/span><\/p>\n

We need ECA reform now, and we need to continue the struggle for voting rights. Both are required if we will defend our democracy and, in Nelson\u2019s words, \u201cbring our democracy back from the brink.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell\u2019s endorsement of the Senate Electoral Count Act (ECA) reform proposal is a significant victory toward reforming the vaguely written 19th-century law that opened the door for those denying the results of the 2020 Presidential vote.\u00a0 And while it falls far short of the comprehensive approach UUSJ believes is needed to … Continue reading We Need ECA Reform While Also Fighting For Voting Rights<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1313,1934],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary","category-democracy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24937","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24937"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24937\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24940,"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24937\/revisions\/24940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uusj.net\/wp1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}