Front Burner - The fight for voting rights in the U.S.

Episode Date: July 15, 2021

As Republicans push voting laws widely seen as suppression, Texas becomes the next battleground. Today on Front Burner, CBC Washington correspondent Paul Hunter on what — if anything — U.S. President Joe Biden will do to fight back.

In the Dragon's Den, a simple pitch can lead to a life-changing connection. Watch new episodes of Dragon's Den free on CBC Gem. Brought to you in part by National Angel Capital Organization, empowering Canada's entrepreneurs through angel investment and industry connections. This is a CBC Podcast. In the United States, there is this nationwide fight over the right to vote. It's playing out in Washington and over a dozen states. And the latest battleground is Texas, where Republicans want to ban things like drive-through voting and extended hours during early voting. Democrats are calling this textbook voter suppression.

voting. Democrats are calling this textbook voter suppression. And political watchers say the changes at play right now could determine the results of the 2022 midterm elections and even the next presidential election. I'm Jamie Poisson, and today's CBC Washington correspondent Paul Hunter on what's at stake with the voting rights fight in the U.S. and what it says about the political fractures that remain in the country after the U.S. and what it says about the political fractures that remain in the country after the election. Hey, Paul, it's great to have you back as always. Hey, Jamie, good to be here. So there are these bills introduced by Texas Republicans right now that Texas Democrats believe will make it harder for people in the state to vote, as I mentioned in the intro. And can you just tell me a bit more about that? Like, what's in them that has Democrats so angry? Sure. Well, the first thing to know is that Texas already has some of the most restrictive

rules around voting in America. Those rules change from state to state. Because unlike in Canada, there is no real overarching federal body that sets the rules for election days. By and large, it's on a state by state basis, even for presidential elections. But Texas, which is controlled by Republicans, has made it harder than most other states to go and cast ballots. Like in other such states, the new rules are all in the name of election security and oversight. How can that be a bad thing, right? rules are all in the name of election security and oversight. How can that be a bad thing, right? But the bill in Texas would ban a variety of voting innovations.

It would ban drive-through voting. It would ban 24-hour voting. It would increase voter ID requirements for those who vote by mail. There'd be new rules on who can drive people to polling stations. It would create tough penalties for those who inadvertently even break the rules. For example, checking the wrong box on a form when registering to vote. It would make it easier for election results to be contested. And we've seen how that can play out in Arizona. I mean, the list goes on, And we've seen how that can play out in Arizona.

I mean, the list goes on. But the bottom line, for many voters, especially lower income voters, it complicates voting. It puts up barriers to voting. And as I say, it's done in the name of election security. But again, with all the talk of voter fraud in 2020, there's no evidence it happened. evidence it happened. Basically, in Texas, I understand that that Democratic lawmakers have like fled the state just try and stop this, these laws from happening. Yeah, pretty dramatic, isn't it? Yeah. They've literally, physically exited Texas. Governor Greg Abbott has called for their immediate return. And so if these people want to be hanging out, wherever they're hanging out, they're going to have to be prepared to do it for well over a year.

As soon as they come back into the state of Texas, they will be arrested, they will be cabined inside the Texas Capitol until they get their job done. Ostensibly, they want to block the new laws from being passed. But the effect will likely be simply to raise awareness of the issue, because probably all they can ultimately do is delay passage. It's my honor to introduce Representative Sinfronia Thompson from Houston. I'm not up here to take a vacation in Washington, DC. When I look at the African American Museum, I thought about the struggle of my people fought in this country to get the right

to vote. And that right is sacred to my constituents that I represent back in Houston, Texas. These Republicans in this legislature may have changed the Messiah, Jesus, to Trump, but I haven't. But here's what's happening. By physically leaving Texas, they've come to Washington, D.C. By physically leaving Texas, they've come to Washington, D.C. It means the vote on these new rules, which would pass because Republicans control the government in Texas, it would mean the vote can't actually happen.

So they've come to Washington to delay the vote because there has to be a certain number of lawmakers in the chamber for the vote to happen. But the minute they step foot back in Texas, they can be arrested. The lawmakers now compelled by the state constitution to attend legislative sessions. Republicans threatening to arrest their colleagues. In fact, the Texas House now voted for the sergeant at arms to round up the Democrats and use warrants as necessary. They can be dragged to the chamber and then the vote would proceed and they would lose. So the question now is how long can they stay out? Which is, you know, fair question. You just like never go back to Texas? No, exactly. Well, there actually is an answer to that. They'd have to stay out of Texas to block this. They'd have to stay out the rest of this year and all

of next year and then hope that a new state government gets voted in in November of 2022. So can they do that? Will they? Probably not. But they've achieved this much. They've got people talking about the issue. It's why we're having this chat today, isn't it? And conversations like this are happening all over America as people dive in a bit more on what's going on with voter suppression. Well, you know, on that point, this isn't just a Texas issue, as you just said. State lawmakers have enacted, Republican state lawmakers have enacted 28 laws in 17 states, I believe, that restrict ballot access. I know in Georgia, a bill passed in April that dropped the number of drop boxes per

100,000 voters pretty significantly, meaning people will likely have to track much further to vote. And Paul, earlier, you mentioned that Republicans say that they're doing this in the name of security, in the name of election fraud. And talk to me a little bit more about why they say they're doing this. Yeah, and you're right. I think as of last month, the count was 17 states have enacted not just bills, but they've enacted new rules on voting since that's just since the 2020 election. You know, all the talk of voter fraud, in a sense, has enabled, certainly in Republican states, are citing the need to securitize, if that's a word, the electoral process. Governor Greg Abbott is in Austin watching everything play out. Everyone understands voter fraud does occur in the state of Texas, and we need to ensure always, every election, that there

is integrity in the election process, but we are achieving that integrity while also making it easier to vote than ever before in the history of the state. But again, critics say there's no problem. It's a solution in search of a problem. That's what people point out. But you're right to say it's not just Texas, right? Indeed, in Georgia, you know, Georgia's the new sort of poster child for voter suppression. A whole raft of new rules have been passed into law in Georgia. I mean, that's the reason the baseball All-Star game was in Denver this week,

because baseball pulled it out of Georgia to protest all these new laws. In a statement, the MLB commissioner saying their move is the best way to demonstrate our values as a sport. Governor Brian Kemp called out Major League Baseball. Georgians and all Americans should know what this decision means. It means cancel culture and partisan activists are coming for your business. It's throughout America is the thing. And that's why these Texas lawmakers are saying, hey, it's not just us. This is a real problem for the democratic process in this country. So let's talk about, you know, if it's not fraud, if it's not security, what is it? Why are they doing this? I would guess that the other explanation here is that they're losing states that have normally been Republican strongholds. Georgia would be the perfect

example. They almost lost Texas. And so I guess, is the idea here that this is a strategy from the Republican Party to like not lose? The official headline is that it's being done in the name of election security. But what critics will say, well, funny that you're making all these changes after you either lost in certain elections or are worried about losing in future elections. What's happening in America is demographics are changing, and everybody knows this. There are more Hispanics voting than ever before. There are, you know, certainly in 2020, you and I talked about this, the black vote for Joe Biden increased. Critics will point out that what is really happening here is that Republican governments

in a variety of states are acting to suppress the ability of black Americans to vote, of Hispanic Americans to vote, of low-income Americans to vote, of incomes who tend to vote Democrat, with the goal being to ensure an easier ride for Republican candidates in 2022 midterms, in the 2024 presidential, and beyond. That that's what is the unstated but real goal of all these new regulations. but real goal of all these new regulations. Biden responded to all of this on Tuesday in a speech from Philadelphia. He called what's happening to voting laws across the country,

a quote, unfolding assault in America. We'll be asking my Republican friends in Congress and states and cities and counties to stand up for God's sake and help prevent this concerted effort to undermine our election and the sacred right to vote. Have you no shame? Paul, did he go further than that?

You know, I guess I guess the question that I have here is, is like, is this an effective strategy to like essentially ask the Republicans not to do this? Well, we'll find out. Not many people think that in this country at this time that any Republicans are going to listen to Joe Biden, and that's the problem, right? I want to say off into the weeds we go because this is where it gets arcane,

but it's in the weeds, it's in the details where the problem lies for Joe Biden, right? There's not an awful lot he can do besides, as we heard in Philadelphia, kind of beg Republicans to please come around on this. Election rules are set by the states, but what, you know, is happening on Capitol Hill is a couple of pieces of federal legislation that are at different stages of progress aimed at strengthening voting rights. One of them is the John Lewis Act you may have heard about. Protecting everyone's equal access to voting was a lifelong mission and fight for

Congressman Lewis. You want to honor John? Let's honor him by revitalizing the law that he was willing to die for. It restores provisions from the Voting Rights Act, including a requirement that states with a history of racial discrimination get approval from the government before they make any changing to the voting process. It's still stuck in the House of Representatives right now. It's expected it will be stalled by Republicans in the Senate when it gets there. The other one is called the For the People Act, which has a lot more sort of specific things that it's trying to do. But

largely, it would increase federal kind of power over how elections are conducted. But it's stuck because Republicans are pushing back against it in the Senate because they see it as federal overreach that favors, wait for it, Democrats. So this is where America is right now. So Joe Biden gave a big speech this week in Philadelphia about all of this, and he pushed hard for Congress to act on both of these. You must ask those who represent us at the federal, state, local levels, will you deny the will of the people? Will you ignore their voices? We have to ask, are you on the side of truth or lies, fact or fiction, justice or injustice,

democracy or autocracy? That's what it's coming down to. But this is where it gets really arcane. So Democrats control the U.S. Senate. Yeah, I was just going to say that. They've got the White House, they've got the House of Representatives, they've got the Senate, and yet they're stuck. What up with that, right? Well, Republicans, forgive me, Jamie, can stall using a procedural move called a filibuster. And what that means is that votes on bills in the Senate can be delayed

almost forever. The idea is to promote kind of bipartisan-ness because the only way that the delay can be stopped is with a two-thirds vote, not 50 plus one, but two-thirds. And in practical terms, that means 10 Republicans would have to sign off on it. Not going to happen in this case. And so the legislation is stuck. Biden is under pressure to take action on this issue, to do more than just talk. You and I have talked, Jamie, about how Biden came to the White House in no small part on the strength of the black vote in this country while black Americans are saying, pony up, Joe, right? Protect our ability to vote, do something. The term they use sometimes to get around the filibuster is to go nuclear, right? To blow up the rules of the Senate. Democrats and Biden, they have the power to do that, but it's fraught, right? Because the rules you change now could come back to bite you down the line. And Biden has not said he's willing to do it, but the pressure's on. How could it come back to bite you down the line?

And sorry if this sounds with a 50 plus one, then four years from now, eight years from now, when you've got a President Nikki Haley, let's say. Yeah, there you go. It could be on you. It could be on you, and it comes back to get you the other way. That's the concern. It protects both sides at different times. you know you hear people talking about how this would be a massive political cost if Biden got rid of the filibuster and and like can you just talk to me a little bit more about like why uh it would be such a cost is is it for that reason or another reason?

It's for that reason. I mean, there, you know, he would also need to break the filibuster. He would need every Democrat on side. You know, I talk about because people don't want the White House messing around with Senate rules, but also this notion of bipartisanship is what's pushed by Joe Manchin, who you may have heard about, a Democratic senator from West Virginia. It's his view that what the filibuster, that the two-thirds majority means is we have to make stuff that Republicans are going to want to support or enough Republicans are going to want to support and that that is for the good of the country and that the two-thirds requirement forces legislation going forward to appeal to both sides of the aisle. I'm going to continue to support the filibuster. I think it defines who we are as a Senate. I'll make it harder to get rid of it, but it should be painful if you want to use it. You should make sure the place works to where, okay, I want to work with you. How can we do this?

How do we move forward? My Republican friends are my friends. They're not my enemies. The problem is that in America right now, with Mitch McConnell, for example, again saying that he is 100% opposed effectively to anything that Democrats are going to do. Well, the idea of bipartisanship is gone. And as well, on top of that, the other counter argument to that is that people are saying, well, if not on this issue, then what? If you're the Democratic Party and you see all of these Republican states,

like essentially, you know, according to them, like cooking the books, like, does this not seem so key for your like continued success to gain power, like to essentially stop Nikki Haley from like, try to stop Nikki Haley from coming into office in four years? It just feels so central to the whole thing. Yeah. And that's part of what Biden was arguing in Philadelphia. We're going to face another test in 2022, a new wave of unprecedented voter suppression and raw and sustained election subversion. We have to prepare now. That if they don't do it now, the risk is another 10 years will go by before you can reverse any of this. And the reason I say 10 years and the reason that people talk about that is because every 10 years, this gets into further into the weeds.

Jamie, you'll be thrilled. I like these weeds very much. They are actually kind of interesting. Yeah, they're so, yeah. This gets into gerrymandering and redrawing the lines around voting districts. Unlike in Canada, where we have a kind of nonpartisan body that sort of looks at where ridings should be redrawn, in America, it's done on a state-by-state basis. And whichever party controls the state on the year of a census, and this is happening right now, it's the 2020 census, results are being looked at to redraw the lines for the 2022 midterms. It's controlled by the party in power. Hence, they will redraw the lines to favor themselves. It's all a circular thing in the end, but that's what's so maddening about it. And that's why Joe Biden was saying, this is the time to do this. We've got to make sure these rules don't get into place because they will favor Republican

candidates and that this will continue and continue and continue, even though Democrats own the White House and the House of Representatives and the Senate. And yet he still won't. He still won't move to eliminate the filibuster. He won't go there. He hasn't yet. He has that option and he's under pressure to do that. But he hasn't gone there yet. He hasn't yet. He has that option and he's under pressure to do that. But he hasn't gone there yet. He hasn't gone there yet. In the Dragon's Den, a simple pitch can lead to a life-changing connection. Watch new episodes of Dragon's Den free on CBC Gem. Brought to you in part by National Angel Capital Organization.

Empowering Canada's entrepreneurs through angel investment and industry connections. Hi, it's Ramit Sethi here. You may have seen my money show on Netflix. I've been talking about money for 20 years. investment and industry connections. That's not a typo. 50%. That's because money is confusing. In my new book and podcast, Money for Couples, I help you and your partner create a financial vision together. To listen to this podcast, just search for Money for Couples. Look, Paul, I feel like this is a thread that you've been pulling on throughout this conversation. But look, like, if we could just zoom out a bit here, you know, we've got this large chunk of the Republican Party hours after the insurrection in January, refusing to acknowledge the election results, you've got a big part of the country who does not believe the election was fair. Now all these

voting rights changes and like, all of this kind of taken together, what does it say to you about the health of democracy in the United States? Here's the thing. This whole issue is being framed by Joe Biden as putting democracy itself at stake in this country. And, you know, and yet I walk past the White House on my way home most nights and I have yet to see anyone out there with placards saying defeat voter suppression. Right. The truth is it hasn't hit that level of rage. But there's another aspect. And to the to your question, Jamie, what these restrictions really do is that in the eyes of so many, they validate what Donald Trump has been saying since the election, that it was rigged and it was stolen. When politicians say stuff, or ex-presidents. The election fraud of 2020 is the single most requested topic for me and others to talk about, because think of what they've done. What they've done is so sad. Look what's happened to our country

in just a short number of months. Even when it's not true, what happens is that a certain number of people listen and over time they start to believe. And we, indeed, we saw, you know, what can happen when people believe false information with the riots on Capitol Hill on January 6th. So now, with these restrictions moving forward,

people may well think, well, they wouldn't be making those laws if there wasn't a problem. Trump must be right or they wouldn't be fixing it. It makes no sense at all, but that's what many fear will play out with this, that in the end, voting will be harder, especially for certain Democrats, and people will believe ever more that Trump was right when he says he was robbed. And the divide in this country deepens and hardens ever more with Republicans having an easier ride to victory next time. Okay. It's a lot to digest, isn't it?

But there's a lot going on in there. Yeah. I think that's one of the reasons why people don't rise up in protest because it's so complex and it's so arcane and it's about rules that people don't think about. People just think they can just go and vote. Okay. Well, Paul, this is a very fun conversation. Thank you. But also it gave me a lot of clarity on this issue. So thank you very much. My also, it gave me a lot of clarity on this issue. So thank you very much. My pleasure, Jamie. Okay, so before we go today, it's been two months since the Tukumlups Tshwetmuk First Nation announced it had discovered the buried remains of an estimated 215 children on its grounds. They were located near the Kamloops Indian Residential School, which operated for nearly 90 years.

The nation's leaders are set to release their detailed report on the findings later today. A lot has happened since then. Hundreds of unmarked graves have been discovered across the country, sparking a national reckoning around Canada's history of residential schools. Tomorrow on the show, CBC Vancouver reporter Angela Starrett will be back to reflect on all of this and next steps that Indigenous communities would like to see on the issue. So I do hope that you will tune in. But that is all for today.

I'm Jamie Poisson. Thank you so much for listening to FrontBurner, and we'll talk to you tomorrow.