Near the end of his final State of the Union address on Tuesday, President Obama lambasted the countrywide attack on voting rights, and called for Americans to stand up and fight back. He spoke of the need to make “voting easier, not harder,” and criticized “the influence of money in our politics” and the practice of redistricting “so that politicians can pick their voters, and not the other way around.” He outlined his intention “to travel the country to push for reforms,” while adding that he “can’t do these things on my own.” He invoked the concept of “a government of, by, and for the people” to ask Americans to act, saying that change “depend[s] on you,” and the future rests “on your willingness to uphold your obligations as a citizen.”
He gave a rallying cry for Americans “to vote, to speak out, to stand up for others, especially the weak, especially the vulnerable, knowing that each of us is only here because somebody, somewhere, stood up for us.” Unfortunately, Obama is completely right.
A war is being waged in this country on the foundation of democracy — and it is being won.
In 49 states, 395 new voting restrictions have been passed since 2011. These new restrictions include minimizing early voting, ending same-day registration, enforcing stricter voter ID laws, disenfranchising people who have gone to prison, and shutting down voter registration drives.
Full Article: Democracy under attack | TheHill.