Ranking Member Morelle Opening Remarks at Election Related Markup

Washington, D.C. —Committee on House Administration Ranking Member Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.) delivered the following opening remarks at a markup of various measures including election related bills:

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“Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. To you and to the members and staff who worked with our team on the three bills in front of us.

“Pending the outcome of amendments that I may offer, I may support this legislation.

“All of the bills are related to the Committee’s elections jurisdiction, and elections sit at the very heart—indeed, are the very heart—of this country and our democracy.

“The franchise is ‘a fundamental political right,’ because it is the ‘preservation of all rights.’ So many of the core rights that define us—the way we express ourselves; where and how we pray, if we do; who we build our lives with; when and how and whether we have children—all of those are guarded by the ballot box.

“And so, as Members of the Committee on House Administration, we must be guardians of that ballot box. We must be custodians of the right to vote so generations to come will hold these same rights and freedoms that we cherish.

“It is incumbent upon us, not only as elected Members of Congress but as members of this Committee, to do whatever we can to protect and preserve the right of every eligible American to participate without undue restrictions in the open and transparent elections that shape our national conversations.

“So, I will have more to say on the bills as they are called up for consideration individually, and I look forward to considering them, and considering whether they do their part to strengthen our democracy, and to protect our fundamental rights.

“With that Mr. Chairman, I yield back.”

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