Fortune: Democrats say the Capitol Riot illustrates why the US needs voting rights reform

Senate Democrats are connecting the one-year anniversary of the Capitol insurrection to their push for voting rights legislation—even if it means reforming Senate rules in the process.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced in a letter to his colleagues this week that the chamber would vote by Jan. 17 on whether to change the Senate rules if Republicans filibuster voting rights legislation in the coming days. 

To pass voting rights legislation—something Democrats see as crucial to their success in the 2022 midterm elections—they would need to first remove or weaken the filibuster, which Republicans have used to stymie much of their legislative agenda. In his letter, Schumer specifically linked Jan. 6—the day that Trump supporters stormed the U.S. capitol, fueled by the former president’s false claims of a “rigged election”—to the Democrats’ voting rights legislation.  …

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced in a letter to his colleagues this week that the chamber would vote by Jan. 17 on whether to change the Senate rules if Republicans filibuster voting rights legislation in the coming days. 

To pass voting rights legislation—something Democrats see as crucial to their success in the 2022 midterm elections—they would need to first remove or weaken the filibuster, which Republicans have used to stymie much of their legislative agenda. In his letter, Schumer specifically linked Jan. 6—the day that Trump supporters stormed the U.S. capitol, fueled by the former president’s false claims of a “rigged election”—to the Democrats’ voting rights legislation.

“As state legislators come back into session, many of the 400-plus voter suppression bills that have been introduced last year get carried over to this year,” said Aaron Scherb, legislative affairs director at Common Cause, a left-leaning government watchdog group. “There’s an urgent need to protect the voices of Americans—especially Black and brown Americans, whose voices many of these laws are targeting.”