For the People Act of 2019
Floor Speech
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Mr. BROWN of Maryland. Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Let me first start by thanking Mr. Crist of Florida for cosponsoring this amendment. I also want to recognize the work of my good friend from Maryland, John Sarbanes, on the underlying bill and his efforts to make our democracy work for the people.
My amendment would guarantee access to early voting during every day of the week, including Sundays, to every American.
Early voting makes voting more convenient by providing Americans with greater flexibility and opportunity to cast a ballot. More and more Americans are taking advantage of early voting, with more than 40 million citizens casting ballots before election day last year.
But guaranteeing fair and flexible early voting on Sundays is not just a matter of convenience. It is critical for minority voters who disproportionately take advantage of Sunday early voting and often face higher barriers and disparate burdens when deciding to cast a ballot: lost pay, childcare expenses, transit costs.
In my State and in States across the country, churches promote ``take your souls to the polls'' programs that take church parishioners from Sunday services to the voting booth. So cuts to Sunday early voting, as we have witnessed across this country, have had a negative impact, especially on communities of color.
Six States have cut back on early voting, and even more have tried but were blocked by the courts.
In North Carolina, lawmakers deliberately cut Sunday voting, saying 6 days of voting in one week is enough. But this action was struck down because, as the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals noted, it targeted African Americans with almost surgical precision.
Our democracy doesn't work if we don't give people the fullest opportunity to make their voices heard. We should make it easier for people to vote, not harder, and this amendment does exactly that.
Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Chair, I claim the time in opposition.
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Mr. BROWN of Maryland. Madam Chair, in an ideal world, perhaps, we don't mandate from the Federal Government, but when the Fourth Circuit determines that the North Carolina Legislature did it to target African Americans with almost surgical precision in eliminating Sunday voting, it is time for action at the Federal level so we can ensure every American has the right to vote.
Madam Chair, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Crist), my friend and a cosponsor of this amendment.
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Mr. BROWN of Maryland. Madam Chair, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren), the chairwoman of the Committee on House Administration.
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Mr. BROWN of Maryland. I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Chair, how much time do I have left, if I may inquire?
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Mr. BROWN of Maryland. Madam Chair, my amendment would require States to notify voters of polling location changes no later than 7 days prior to the first day of early voting, providing every voter as much time as possible to plan how and when they will vote, and avoiding last minute polling place changes that, more often than not, discourage people from exercising their right to vote.
Research shows that the most important factor that impacts whether someone votes or not is the location of the polling place and the effort it takes to get there.
A 2011 study in the American Political Science Review said changing a location of a polling place can significantly lower voter turnout.
Unfortunately, since 2008, and further accelerated in 2013, when the Supreme Court struck down key parts of the Voting Rights Act, nearly 15,000 polling places have been closed across the country; many of them are located in southern Black communities.
Polling places have been used as political tools to shape the outcome of elections for generations, and it continues to happen today.
Before the 2018 elections, States and local election boards closed polling places at colleges and universities, consolidated polling places in predominantly-minority neighborhoods to save money, and moved polling locations away from public transportation.
These changes discourage participation in our democracy, and make our system of government weaker. That is why Congress must take action to protect the rights of the people, to have a government by the people, for the people.
By providing sufficient notice, every voter can decide whether to cast a vote on Election Day or, as this bill provides, take advantage of early voting or no-excuse absentee voting.
Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Chair, I claim the time in opposition.
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Mr. BROWN of Maryland. Sadly, Madam Chair, in this country there are far too many States and/or local election officials that are not committed to fair and open elections. And as we have seen by decisions in courts at every level, rolling back actions by State legislatures to change polling sites, to take away early voting opportunities, there are some times in the history of this Nation, and this is one of them, when it comes to protecting voting rights, where it is a Federal responsibility to do so.
In an optimal world, in an optimal situation, where we had truly free and fair and open elections, perhaps this amendment and perhaps even this legislation wouldn't be required. That is not the world we live in today, although it is an aspirational place to be.
Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Chair, I again thank my friend and colleague from the great State of Maryland for offering the amendment. Unfortunately, I have to be opposed to this amendment for the variety of reasons I mentioned.
I believe in the greatness of America. I believe we have a great system where other countries from around this globe only wish they could choose their own leaders, like Americans get the opportunity to do so.
We have a system of federalism. We have a system that, I believe, works best from the bottom up; and I believe a top-down approach, that this 700-page mammoth bill will provide for our local election officials, will hinder them, and cost them, and stop them from being able to administer the best, most open elections they possibly can.
I have a lot of faith in the county election officials that are operating in my district, in central and southwestern Illinois. I believe they run a very fair election process. I want to give them the tools and the flexibility to meet the needs of my constituents and our constituents; and the Federal Government doesn't need to be the voice to do so. Our local officials can do that better.
I am ready to close, so I will just reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. BROWN of Maryland. Madam Chair, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren), the chair of the House Administration Committee.
Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
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Mr. BROWN of Maryland. Madam Chair, I will close by just encouraging all my colleagues to support this amendment.
I yield back the balance of my time.
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Mr. BROWN of Maryland. Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
This amendment would require a portion of early voting hours to occur outside of normal business hours. This simple, yet effective amendment would ensure that every working individual has the opportunity to cast their ballot without taking time off from work, having to find child care, or risking being reprimanded by their employer.
While early voting has become increasingly commonplace, States and localities continue to change and restrict hours every election, sometimes closing as early as 4 p.m., making it problematic for those whose workdays may have irregular schedules or are unable to take time away from work.
Despite State laws guaranteeing many workers time off to go vote, too many Americans have neither the luxury of an employer that will give them time off to vote nor the financial freedom to risk losing a few hours' wages in order to participate in our democracy. That is why early voting is so important.
But holding early voting during business hours is just another way citizens have been impeded from exercising their right to vote, particularly middle-class working Americans in the service, manufacturing, and other blue-collar industries. These Americans often rely on a 9 to 5 schedule and don't have the same opportunity to vote.
To ensure everyone's voice can be heard and early voting is convenient for every American, locations should remain open well after the traditional close of business.
Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Chair, I claim the time in opposition to the amendment.
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Mr. BROWN of Maryland. Madam Chair, keeping the same terminology of ``bottom-up'' and ``top-down,'' I think the Founders contemplated both, that when it comes to Federal elections, it would be both a bottom-up and a top-down.
As my friend from Illinois was reminded during the last debate, Article I, Section 4 says, and I will read it in its entirety: ``The times, places, and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives shall be prescribed in each State by the legislature thereof''--that sounds like bottom-up to me--``but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing Senators.''
I think that is what you would refer to as a top-down, contemplated by the Founders, implemented and embraced here in H.R. 1. Why? So that we can protect, expand, promote, and defend the right for every single American to vote and to make sure it is as convenient and accessible to every American regardless of race, color, creed, gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
Madam Chair, I encourage my colleagues to support this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Chair, I thank my colleague from Maryland.
You know, like some of the legislation we pass here, it has to go through the rulemaking process later. That is no different than our forefathers and our Founders of the Constitution.
If you read Alexander Hamilton, he responds to the concerns that the power of the national government to determine the time, places, and manner of elections of the Representatives of the House might actually, at that time, result in the elevation of the wealthy over the mass of citizens.
The fear seems to have been that the national government may conspire to hold elections in only parts of the States populated by the wealthy. That would presumably prevent lower income citizens from voting.
Hamilton rejected that fear on several grounds, including the fact that such places do not exist, but that the rich are scattered throughout the States.
Hamilton argued that every member of this country should have the right to vote, but the Federal overreach should not be something we are actually encouraging right now.
Let's look at what our forefathers actually said about the provisions in the Constitution, just not using them to put forth a political agenda.
Madam Chair, I am urging a ``no'' vote on this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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Mr. BROWN of Maryland. Madam Chair, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.
This amendment will require States to include in their biannual report to Congress on the voter information hotline statistics to include a description of any actions taken in response to reports of voter intimidation or suppression.
Discouraging voter participation through intimidation or suppression tactics runs against the very foundation of our democracy, but these tactics continue to play an unfortunate role in our elections today.
When I ran for Lieutenant Governor of Maryland in 2010, my opponent hired a consultant who advised my opponent that ``. . . the first and most desired outcome is voter suppression'' by having ``African American voters stay home.''
To that end, my opponent made thousands of election day robocalls to Democrat voters telling them that Democrats had won; although, in fact, the polls were still open for 2 more hours.
The call told voters: Relax. Everything is fine. The only thing left is to watch it on TV tonight.
It reached 112,000 voters in majority African American areas.
This is just one example of the despicable tactics that have become commonplace in our elections.
We have the responsibility to confront these attempts to target individuals and influence whether or not they vote.
In 2019, too many Americans are still being harassed, threatened, and barred from exercising their right to vote. My amendment will ensure election officials do their job by helping voters who don't know where to vote, why their polling place is closed, or why they are being turned away.
This is an essential element to make our elections more free, more fair, and will help safeguard the integrity of our elections by holding election officials accountable for protecting every citizen's right to vote.
Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Chair, I rise in opposition to the amendment.
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Mr. BROWN of Maryland. Madam Chair, turning back to the amendment, what the amendment does is it simply holds local election officials accountable and to be responsive to the claims, the calls, the concerns that are raised to them regarding voter intimidation, voter suppression, ensuring that when they are collecting that information, that they also report on what the response is to the claims that are made.
Madam Chair, I yield the balance of my time to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren), chair of the House Administration Committee.
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Mr. BROWN of Maryland. Madam Chair, may I inquire how much time I have remaining.
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Mr. BROWN of Maryland. Madam Chair, the issue raised by the gentleman from Illinois is neither helped nor harmed by this amendment. He raises an issue that we can take up perhaps another day.
But what this bill simply does is it requires that local elected officials be responsive and report on the responses they take to claims of intimidation and suppression.
Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Chair, we would love to take up ballot harvesting today, too, but, unfortunately, we are not given the chance to. The Democrats voted it down in the only markup that we had, the smallest committee in Congress, 5 hours last week, with 40 percent of the bill not going through regular order, not going through the committee process.
This is not a process that has been open. It is not a process that has been transparent. It is not a process that has been bipartisan.
Clearly, we have accepted many Democrat amendments on our side. Not one single Republican amendment has been accepted by the Democrat side.
Madam Chair, I urge a ``no'' vote on this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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