![]() 21 states have same-day voter registration, including red states like Idaho, Wyoming, and Iowa. They should be extended to all people in America. Many of the provisions in this bill have already been adopted across country in red, blue and purple states and have the support of Republican and democratic governors and elected officials. Our recent Morning Consult poll found that 57% of voters support requiring states to establish nonpartisan redistricting commissions. A poll from the Campaign Legal Center found that 83% of likely voters support public disclosure of contributions to organizations involved in elections. ![]() According to a Pew poll from last year, 65% of respondents said the option to vote early or absentee should be available to any voter. That is why the American people overwhelmingly support the provisions of this bill. These are real threats to our democracy and the For the People Act takes them head on in a common sense way to return the power to the people. Dark money also continues to flood our elections, denying voters their ability to know who is trying to influence their vote. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, spending for the 2020 election cycle was approximately $14 billion, more than double the 2016 cycle. At the same time, the huge sums of money spent on elections are drowning out the voices of voters. Efforts have been made to suppress the vote, efforts have been made to introduce bills that would suppress the vote.Īs Senator Warnock said in his maiden speech on the Senate floor last week, to vote by mail, which is how 45% of voters cast their ballots in the last election, and 14 states have introduced legislation to make it easier to purge voters from the rolls. That was an extraordinary thing, that was progress, but what was the result? Well, just since the beginning of this year, now over 300 bills have been introduced in state legislatures across the country in nearly every state, including my own home state of Minnesota. Last November in the middle of a pandemic, in the middle of a public health crisis, nearly 160 million Americans voted, more people than ever before, in part because the methods of voting, specifically ways that we made it easier to vote, were extended in states across the country. At a time when the right to vote is under attack and special interests and dark money are drowning out the voices of the American people, we need to take action. ![]() As I said from the stage on the inauguration day, on that beautiful day, which Senator Blunt so much to make a success, under that bright blue sky at the very place where you could still see the spray paint on the bottom of the columns and the makeshift windows that were put in place, I said, “This is the day our democracy picks itself up, brushes off the dust and does what America always does, goes forward as one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” Well, we can’t do that if anyone’s vote is suppressed. It is about strengthening our democracy by returning it to the hands of its rightful owners, the American people. This bill is essential to protecting every American’s right to vote, getting dark money out of our elections, as well as some very important anti-corruption reforms. That democracy is due for some rejuvenation. In the end, that insurrection was about an angry mob working to undermine our democracy and it reminds all of us how very fragile our democracy truly is and how it is on all of us to not just protect that democracy, but to ensure that it thrives. I’m also pleased that we took part in very constructive hearings, along with the Homeland Security Committee on the January 6th attack on the Capitol, and our productive work Senator Blunt and I are doing together on oversight and investigations of that day is continuing. Last month, when we held this committee’s organizing meeting, I announced that the For the People Act would be the subject of our first legislative hearing. I would also like to acknowledge, in addition to Senator Merkley, two of our other members who are new to this committee and are new to the Senate, Senator Ossoff, who along with Senator Warnock was elected in Georgia, where we all know election issues were front and center, as well as Senator Padilla, who has his own extensive experience with these issues from his time as California’s secretary of state. I would like to thank Senator Blunt, our colleagues, and our witnesses for being here today. Today, we are here to consider For the People Act, a legislation that I’m honored to lead with Senator Merkley and Majority Leader Schumer, which has been co-sponsored by every Democratic member of this committee. I called to order this hearing of the Rules and Administration Committee on S.
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