Top Dem Morelle Fought for Fair Voter ID Legislation and an Actual Prediction Market Ban During Committee Markup
WASHINGTON – Rep. Joe Morelle (NY-25), the top Democrat on the Committee on House Administration, fought Committee Republicans to pass an actual prediction market ban and to stop their ongoing attempt to suppress millions of voters during today’s full committee markup.
Today’s markup began with consideration of H.R. 9368, the Voter ID Act, a Republican bill that would suppress millions of voters across the country with an excessively limited list of acceptable voter identification. During the debate, Ranking Member Morelle slammed Committee Republicans for hiding voter suppression tactics behind claims for election security.
“Americans across the political spectrum agree on this simple point: after meeting certain minimum accessibility standards, states know best how to ensure a free, fair, and secure election,” said Ranking Member Morelle. “But this bill isn’t meant to secure American elections—it’s meant to ensure certain Americans cannot access the ballot. Because, why would H.R. 9368 specifically ban otherwise valid IDs simply for not having an expiration date—unless Republicans knew that many Tribal IDs lack expiration dates and they don’t want Native people to vote easily?”
Ranking Member Morelle offered an amendment with Rep. Terri A. Sewell, the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Elections, that would build on the underlying bill by expanding the forms of acceptable voter ID and ensuring that American elections remain free, fair, secure, and accessible to every eligible voter. The Morelle-Sewell amendment lists forms of identification, including student IDs, gun licenses, and concealed carry permits.
“I know firsthand the harm that unnecessary voting barriers can cause,” said Ranking Member Sewell. “After Alabama enacted a restrictive voting law, my mother and I spent hours helping my father, a nine-time stroke survivor, obtain the identification he needed to vote. What should have been a simple process became an ordeal because of bureaucratic hurdles and accessibility barriers. Like so many, my father was a proud, patriotic American who wanted nothing more than to exercise his fundamental right to vote, yet he was forced to overcome obstacle after obstacle just to make his voice heard. That experience reinforced what I have always believed: we should be making voting more accessible, not less.”
The Committee voted against the Morelle-Sewell amendment on party lines and ultimately passed H.R. 9368, as amended, in the same fashion.
Ranking Member Morelle continued fighting for an actual ban on prediction markets as “even the mere appearance of self-dealing further erodes the already declining trust between the American people and its government.”
“Just as I do not buy or sell stocks, I do not participate in prediction markets—that should be the norm for the entirety of the federal government,” said Ranking Member Morelle. “That includes our official and campaign staffs, our institutional partners, and as a matter of principle, the President, Vice President and justices of the Supreme Court. This behavior is too pernicious for a half-measure.”
Ranking Member Morelle offered an amendment to H.R. 9367 that would implement a comprehensive and immediate ban on congressional participation in prediction markets. The Morelle amendment would ban Members of Congress, Members’ immediate families, congressional staff members, candidates for federal office and their staff members, and the officers of the House and Senate from prediction markets.
Committee Republicans rejected the Morelle amendment and passed weak prediction markets legislation on a party-line vote.
During today’s markup, the Committee unanimously passed H.R. 9342 – GPO Modernization Act, H.R. 9360 – ACRC Sunset Act, and H.R. 3334 – USCP Empowerment Act, as amended, en bloc.
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