Former first lady Michelle Obama has actively advocated for voter turnout and voter rights and with the state Republicans pushing for bills that would encourage voter suppression, Congressional Democrats are pushing for a voting and elections bill. With the House passing the sweeping voter and elections bill, the former first lady praised the efforts and called on the Senate to pass the bill.
Michelle Obama praised the passage of the extensive voting and elections bill in the House last week. Whether or not the bill would pass would now depend on the Senate. The former first lady now urged the Democratic-controlled Senate to pass the voting rights bill as soon as possible to be able to prevent the passage of legislations in states moving to suppress voters, especially voters of color. The House passed the bill last week Wednesday.
“I’m thrilled to see that the House of Representatives has passed the #ForThePeopleAct. Now, I urge the Senate to follow suit — nothing is more important to our democracy than safeguarding the right to vote,” tweeted Michelle along with her full statement and a link to the nonpartisan voting organization she co-chairs called When We All Vote. The House passed the bill on mostly-party lines. In order to pass the Senate, it would need 67 votes, meaning 10 Republicans would have to join in the effort to vote for its passage, which may prove to be a challenge.
The proposal would include the creation of a nationwide automatic voter registration system. It would also expand voting by mail as well as restoring the voting rights of people who have been convicted of a felony while protecting voters against their state’s individual laws that would restrict voters or voter identification.
Michelle’s husband, former President Barack Obama, also recently took to social media to praise his former colleague, Joe Biden on the passage of his $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan that would promise COVID-19 relief. The passage of the bill has been Biden’s focus during his first months so far due to families that have been severely affected by the ongoing pandemic.
“This landmark legislation will help families pay rent and food on the table, lift millions of children out of poverty, make health care more affordable, aid small businesses, fund broad-based vaccination efforts, and make it easier for states to reopen schools,” tweeted Obama.