Hakeem Jeffries rejects GOP spending bill as 'unserious and unacceptable'
apnews.com
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries is rejecting a proposal Speaker Mike Johnson has put forward that links continued government funding for six months with a measure to require proof of citizenship when registering to vote.

Calling it “unserious and unacceptable,” House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries rejected on Monday a proposal from Speaker Mike Johnson that links continued government funding for six months with a measure to require proof of citizenship when registering to vote.

The response frames the spending battle to come over the next weeks as lawmakers work to reach consensus on a short-term spending bill that would prevent a partial government shutdown when the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1. Lawmakers hope to avoid a shutdown just weeks before voters go to the polls.

Johnson is punting the final decisions on full-year spending into next year when a new president and Congress take over. He’s doing so at the urging of members within his conference who believe that Republicans will be in a better position next year to secure the funding and policy priorities they want.

  • sun_is_ra@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    0·
    2 months ago

    I dont get it. What is the down side of implementing this policy?

    sound reasonable to me that you only want to allow legal citizens to vote as per law

    Edit:

    @[email protected] had shared a good article covering all points in the comments and more

    https://www.npr.org/2024/06/11/nx-s1-4991903/voter-registration-proof-of-citizenship-requirement.

    I also want seize the opportunity to thank everyone who took the time to downvote my question

    • Hugin@lemmy.world
      1·
      2 months ago

      Because it’s easy at the local level to selectivity apply the rules and only allow the people you want to vote. Here is an actual literacy test that was used. Hint if you were white you passed if not you failed.

      • civilfolly@lemmy.world
        1·
        2 months ago

        I’m a college educated person. Based on this test, I don’t think the racists would have let me vote in Louisiana.

      • sun_is_ra@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        0·
        2 months ago

        Why are we talking about literacy test? The article says requiring proof ofbcitizenship. as I understand it, uts as simple as presenting national ID or passport

        • msfroh@lemmy.ca
          1·
          2 months ago

          What national ID?

          The US doesn’t have a national ID card. I have a federally-issued ID card as a lawful permanent resident, but the typical US citizen has what? Their main proof of citizenship is their birth certificate, issued by their state, and doesn’t have a photo (and if it did, would probably be a baby photo). The people with passports tend to have enough money to travel internationally, which is a pretty small proportion of the population (as it’s a big country, so even a lot of people who can afford vacations will vacation in the next state over at most).

    • Leeny@lemmy.ca
      1·
      2 months ago

      In case you’re asking in good faith… The downside is that non-citizens voting is simply not a problem. The number of cases is extremely low, there’s nothing to “fix” here. The biggest impact of this policy would be that actual American citizens who do not have, or lost, or forgot to bring their proof of citizenship will not be able to vote. It will predominantly affect poor and marginal populations. People that don’t have a passport, don’t have easy access to their birth certificate, or aren’t aware of the new regulation. Fewer people voting is 100% the goal with this policy.