Squad amendment to restore voting rights to felons, incarcerated individuals fails in House

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The House Tuesday rejected an amendment authored by the progressive Squad to restore voting rights not only to felons but to individuals who are currently incarcerated. 

The measure went down in bipartisan defeat with just 97 Democrats voting in favor of the amendment compared with 328 members who voted against – 119 Democrats and 209 Republicans.

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Freshman Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., authored the amendment with support from fellow progressive Reps. Mondaire Jones, D-N.Y., Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., and New Jersey's Bonnie Watson Coleman. 

After the vote failed, Bush tweeted: "For the first time ever, the House took a vote on whether or not to end the cruelty of denying incarcerated people their right to vote. Our amendment didn’t pass, but 97 Democrats voted with us. We will not stop fighting until we dismantle white supremacy in all of its forms."

The National Republican Congressional Committee slammed the issue of giving people in prison the right to vote. 

"The American people are probably wondering why Congress is wasting its time debating whether or not to grant convicted murderers additional rights," said NRCC Spokesman Mike Berg. "The answer is because Nancy Pelosi and her socialist colleagues control the House of Representatives."

Ahead of the vote, Bush pointed out that barring felons and people who are currently in prison from participating in federal elections disproportionately affects people of color. 

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Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives Cori Bush poses for a portrait after beating incumbent Rep.William Lacy Clay in their primary election, in St Louis, Missouri, U.S. August 5, 2020. REUTERS/Lawrence Bryant - RC2V7I92SNKJ (Reuters)

"America does not love all of its people," Bush, a Black Lives Matter activist, said in urging her colleagues to back the measure. "And we see that. Right now more than 5 million people are legally barred from participating in our elections ... This cannot continue. Disenfranchising our own citizens – it is not justice."

Bowman, D-N.Y., said people entangled in the "injustice system" did not lose their citizenship and therefore should not lose their right to vote. 

"These are people from our communities, still connected strongly to our families, our schools and our workplaces," Bowman, another new Squad member, said. "As a result, they should not lose their right to vote. ... Our democracy will remain broken and sick and unhealthy until we heal and restore the right to vote for incarcerated individuals."

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The amendment was offered to House Democrats' sweeping voting rights and campaign finance reform legislation, known as the For The People Act. The House spent Tuesday voting on amendments to the bill, which is set for final passage on Wednesday.

House Democrats passed similar legislation last Congress, but it died in the GOP-led Senate at the time.

The voting reform legislation, numbered H.R. 1 to signify it is the top priority of House Democrats, would make it easier to vote through automatic voter registration, restoring voting rights to felons after they have completed their sentences, expanding early voting access and absentee voting. It also prohibits voter roll purges and partisan gerrymandering of districts, imposes new campaign finance rules, and requires presidential nominees to release 10 years of tax returns. 

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Republicans are squarely against the overarching legislation, arguing voters want more integrity and trust in the election system and that requires stricter reforms like voter ID. 

"This bill makes elections less trustworthy, not more," said Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas. "Trust is everything."