Sewell Leads Dems in Highlighting Importance of Voter Registration Access
Republican witness agreed that President Trump cannot ban mail-in voting
WASHINGTON — Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07), the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Elections, emphasized that any updates to the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) must be pro-voter, ensure eligible voters are not wrongfully purged from voter rolls, and be absent of conspiracy theory influence.
“In my home state of Alabama, our Secretary of State proudly proclaimed on day one of his administration that he was removing Alabama from the Electronic Registration Information Center—also known as ERIC—a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization of states that has proven to be one of the most effective tools for helping election officials maintain more accurate voter rolls,” said Subcommittee Ranking Member Sewell. “Unfortunately, our Secretary of State gave into conspiracy theories and withdrew Alabama from the organization—with no plan for how he would replace that level of voter list maintenance information.”
Committee on House Administration Ranking Member Morelle highlighted in his opening remarks, submitted for the record, how Republicans and President Trump continue to undermine the confidence of the American people with false claims about the integrity of our election system.
“For years, Republicans have purged hundreds of thousands of voters, including eligible voters, from registration rolls, with voters sometimes not finding out they’ve been removed until they show up at the polls to vote,” said Ranking Member Morelle. “And now, the Trump Administration has taken unprecedented steps to collect scores of voter data from states across the country with no rational explanation or justification. A deeply concerning move from an Administration that continues to claim, without any evidence, that our elections are rife with fraud and noncitizens voting.”
During the hearing, Morelle continued to send the message that our elections are secure.
In his testimony, Republican witness Mark Braden praised the bipartisan collaboration that resulted in passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1964, “the most important election changes” of his lifetime. Braden also stated that President Trump has no authority to ban mail-in voting, and that authority rests with Congress and the states. Later in the hearing, Professor Michael Morley, the Majority’s other witness, agreed that the President does not have the authority to use an executive order regarding the use of mail-in ballots, as did Sophia Lin Lakin, witness for the Democrats.
Congresswoman Julie Johnson (TX-32) emphasized that voting is the most important and fundamental right we have as Americans.
Rep. Johnson also highlighted that election integrity should be about ensuring that every eligible voter has the right to vote – rather than excluding people from participating in the process.
You can watch the entire subcommittee hearing here.
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The Committee on House Administration’s jurisdiction includes federal elections, House operations, Capitol Complex security, Smithsonian Institution, and Legislative Branch agencies such as the Library of Congress, and Government Publishing Office.