The last general election is well over—well, for many people—but the battle over voting rages on.

*A greek god casting a vote for president in the US | Created by Jay W. Austin & DALL•E*

The House passed a big ol’ piece of voting rights legislation yesterday titled House Resolution 1. It’ll now find its way to the Senate, where it’s prolly not gonna survive the Republican ire.

Many of the measures would embolden voting rights for minorities and marginalized communities that often vote Democrat.

I was struck by one lawyer’s candid explanation for why he was pushing for tighter voting restrictions in Arizona: “Because it puts us at a competitive disadvantage relative to Democrats.”

It’s strange when people say the quiet things out loud, isn’t it?

“Politics is a zero sum game,” said the lawyer. Somewhat accurate assessment, I guess, until we wise up and move towards ranked choice voting.

Back to House Resolution 1…

H.R. 1 would directly impact people with felony records. It would require states to automatically restore voting rights as soon as people complete their sentence.

That becomes potent when coupled with another mandate within H.R. 1: automatic voter registration for eligible voters.

Essentially, H.R. 1 would change the default setting of our democracy. Instead of opting in to vote like we currently do, we’d be in a position to opt out if we wanted to.

*When we volunteered to register people with criminal records to vote.*

We had an incredible experience last year registering people with felony records to vote.

But for as much fun as we had, it’d be ok if we didn’t have to do that anymore. I’m afraid we’re going to have to wait for a little while longer, but I’m open to surprises.

Aye, I’m Jay. You’re on my personal site where I post things I make about interrupting mass incarceration, protecting migration, environmental justice & sustainability, language, communications, storytelling, creativity, and tech.

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