Leading Republicans said in interviews published Thursday that Republicans plan to push forward two voting-related bills when they take control of both chambers of Congress and the White House next month.
Representative Brian Still (R-Wis.), who campaigned for President-elect Donald Trump, and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), serve as the chairs of the House Administration Committee. There is. In comments to The Associated Press, he shared Republican plans for the American Election Trust Act (ACE) Act and the Protecting American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE).
“As we enter the new year with a unified Republican administration, there is a real opportunity to move these bills not just out of committee, but to the full floor of the House and into law,” he said. “We need to increase the American people’s confidence in our elections.”
“Republicans are likely to face opposition from Democrats, leaving little room for them to maintain their slim majorities in the House and Senate,” the Associated Press said. Steil said there would be “some reforms and tweaks” to the original proposal. He said he expected support from the Democratic Party. We will work with Republicans to improve and ultimately support them.”
The committee said Steil’s ACE Act “includes nearly 50 single bills proposed by members of the House Republican Conference” and is “the most conservative election seriously considered in the House in more than 20 years.” It is called the Fairness Bill.
Dozens of groups last year wrote to Mr. Steil and the committee’s ranking Democrat, Rep. Joe Morrell of New York, to “defend free and fair elections and ensure the freedom to vote for all Americans.” “We believe that Congress has an important role to play in making this happen.” Vote. Far from furthering this goal, the ACE Act would actually set it back. ”
“This bill would nationalize harmful and unnecessary restrictions on voting rights and roll back many of Washington, D.C.’s current voter protection laws,” the coalition explained. “Instead of advancing this bill, Congress should take actions that help voters and promote democracy, including passing legislation that strengthens protections against voting discrimination and expands access to voting for all communities. be.”
The bill did not receive a vote in the House this Congress, but Rep. Chip Roy’s (R-Texas) SAVE Act did, passing the House 221-198 in July. All Republicans present voted in favor of the bill, while all but five House Democrats voted against it.
But because Democrats narrowly controlled the Senate, the SAVE Act, which would require proof of U.S. citizenship to vote in federal elections, never received further consideration in Congress, despite attempts by Republicans to tie it to government funding. There wasn’t.
Morrell told The Associated Press that there is bipartisan support for some voting policies, including federal funding for election offices, limits on foreign funding in U.S. elections, and even ID requirements that provide some protection for voters. He suggested that it could be obtained, but also accused Republicans of spreading conspiracies. Theory of widespread voting by noncitizens in November.
“I haven’t heard anything about this since election day,” he noted. “It’s an Election Day miracle that what they spent so much time describing as a pervasive problem, an epidemic problem, suddenly doesn’t exist at all.”
Morrell spoke extensively about the vote on the bill, telling The Associated Press that “our view and the Republican view on this are very different.”
“They’ve spent most of the last two years and beyond actually restricting people’s right to vote, both at the state level and at the federal level,” he added. “And the SAVE Act and the ACE Act both accomplish that, making it harder for people to vote.”
In response to reports on social media Thursday, attorney and Democracy Docket founder Marc Elias said, “Trump is a dictator. Republicans are spreading disinformation, legitimizing election denialism, and gaining partisan advantage.” They desire these ‘changes’ in order to gain sex.”
“Democrats need to oppose this effort,” he warned. “If Republicans enact new voter suppression laws, I can promise you that we will sue and win.”
