The House Democratic political process overhaul bill has secured the endorsement of The Christian Century, a magazine widely regarded as the most prominent voice for progressive American mainline Protestants.
"Assuring all citizens access to the ballot box was once – within living memory – a bipartisan pursuit," the magazine said in an editorial posted Monday. "Given that legacy, the voting rights provisions of the For The People Act introduced in Congress in January should be uncontroversial."
The editorial touted provisions in the measure, dubbed HR 1, that would expand early voting, ease voter registration, restore voting rights to felons and make Election Day a federal holiday. The legislation seems guaranteed of passage in the newly Democratic House but likely without any votes from Republicans. At a minimum they object to federalizing the administration of elections, which has historically been left to the states, but some in the GOP have also openly derided the bill as a "power grab" designed to tilt the electorate to the left.
"If the prospect of more people going to the polls makes any politicians uneasy, they might consider what that says about their own commitment to serving the welfare of all," the editors wrote.
