The For the People Act looks doomed, but the federal election funding local officials desperately need doesn’t have to be.
Jessica Huseman is the editorial director of Votebeat, an independent, non-profit newsroom covering voting rights, redistricting and election administration. She teaches investigative journalism at Columbia Graduate School of Journalism and New York University, and was previously a reporter for ProPublica, where she led voting and elections coverage.
The efforts of these auditors would be hilarious if they weren’t such a deep insult to basic democratic standards.
Instead of arguing about which states have better laws now, look at the ones making it easier to vote and the ones that are making it tougher.
The For the People Act is driven by commendable principle, but it asks election directors to make huge changes fast—and doesn’t cover all the costs.
I had a front-row seat to the breakdown of our voting system. To repair it will take more than casting blame.