By Dr. Jessie Fields
As Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) promised, the first piece of legislation in the 116th Congress was House Resolution 1, which includes a package of voting reforms.
It’s a smart move for the speaker. She recognizes the public appetite for reforming our broken political system. The American people have moved “unrigging the system” to the center of the political conversation and Congress has promised to respond. This is positive.
But do Pelosi and other House Democrats understand what’s truly needed to unrig the system? We all watched Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) verbally battle President Trump over the government shutdown and the president’s request to fund a southern border wall. Shouldn’t the Democrats be taking steps to tear down walls and make government work for everyone by championing democracy for all?
H.R. 1 is incomplete because it fails to recognize important changes within the broader electorate and ignores structural changes such as open primaries that would empower millions of African-Americans, and many millions more Americans, to fully participate.