Feingold writes: "President Trump and Vice-President Pence's 'election integrity' commission is unequivocally declaring war on voters - and right now, two prominent Democrats are helping."
Voters at a polling precinct. (photo: Getty Images)
08 July 17
resident Trump and Vice-President Pence’s “election integrity” commission is unequivocally declaring war on voters -- and right now, two prominent Democrats are helping.
The commission recently sent a letter to all 50 states requesting the very same data that Republican state governments have used to create hyper-partisan gerrymandering and enact restrictive voter ID laws across the country.
This commission is laying the groundwork for nationalized voter suppression. It is completely illegitimate and will harm our elections.
But the presence of the secretaries of state for Maine and New Hampshire on this commission -- both prominent Democrats -- is making it look bipartisan. And that gives it a greater chance of succeeding. We can’t allow that to happen.
Nationally, the Democratic Party is gaining support as the country’s demographics become increasingly diverse. The Republican Party has known for several years that its best tactic to cling to power is not to build a party worth supporting, but to deny participation in the political process to Democratic voters.
So Republicans have been suppressing voters state-by-state for years. And now that they control the White House, they’re trying to do it nationally.
By agreeing to participate in this commission, Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap (D) and New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner (D) are helping.
But don’t take my word for it. National voter suppression expert and co-chair of the commission Kris Kobach even went on CNN this week to tout the commission’s bipartisan credentials. We have to make it clear this commission doesn’t have legitimate support from both parties.
When people are denied participation in the political process, it undermines the legitimacy of our elections -- and ultimately undermines the legitimacy of our government itself. We must not let President Trump suppress legitimate votes.
Thank you for standing up for our democratic legitimacy today,
