THE NEW Democratic majority House gaveled in on Thursday with reform on its agenda — not so much of policy but of democracy itself. Admirably, the majority aims both to repair House rules and to improve the functioning of democratic institutions more broadly. Given the coarsening discourse and widening polarization, the challenge is immense.
House Democrats will release H.R. 1 on Friday, and it will be a sprawling package — addressing campaign financing, voting rights, election cybersecurity and more. The bill reportedly will mandate that political action committees report their donors. It would mend the big hole that the Supreme Court ripped in the Voting Rights Act, which had guaranteed access to the voting booth to generations of minority Americans. It would help states replace old election equipment, curb extreme partisan gerrymandering and encourage small-dollar campaign donations.
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