ACTIVE WITH THE ACTIVISTS
By ARNIE ALPERT, for InDepthNH
MANCHESTER—Coinciding with the 58th anniversary of the March on Washington, 15 people waved signs in front of Democratic U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan’s office in downtown Manchester calling on the state’s junior senator to back her support of the For the People Act with action to “fix the filibuster.”
The For the People Act would expand voting rights, end partisan gerrymandering, and reduce the role of big money in politics. The proposal has passed the Democratically controlled House of Representatives but is stalled in the Senate, where under current rules most bills can be blocked if they have fewer than 60 Senators supporting them. A related bill, the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, is also stuck in Congress despite backing from Democrats who hold the majority in both chambers.
“Voting rights is the infrastructure every other right is built on,” said Bonnie Bruno of Hollis, who waved signs at motorists passing by the Senator’s office. “Get rid of the filibuster and get this passed,” she said.
John O’Neil of Common Cause, who organized the demonstration, said Hassan “has yet to take a firm stand” on ending the use of the filibuster to block legislation like the For the People Act that has majority support.