Freedom to Vote

Floor Speech

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Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak to the urgency of passing the Freedom to Vote Act, which the Senate is considering today.

The events of the past year have exposed the fragility of our democracy, and Congress must act now to protect that most fundamental of American freedoms: the freedom to vote.

In 2020, we lived through the most challenged and scrutinized election in American history. But now, even after the result is beyond all reasonable debate, radical right-wing extremists and would-be dictators are still trying to overturn the 2020 election; stoking the flames of conspiracy, hate, and chaos in order to create a dark and twisted vision of America that these agents of chaos have embraced.

Unless Congress acts now, the radical right will keep using the big lie told by the former President and endorsed by his supporters to enact damaging voting restrictions and prevent Americans who have rejected their dark vision for our country from participating in our representative democracy.

In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, where I live, the majority in our State legislature has embraced these lies and conspiracy theories about election fraud to propose a raft of new laws that would make it more difficult for eligible voters to actually vote. We have an opportunity to put an end to these anti-democratic tactics and Congress must seize it.

Today, the Senate will take a crucial vote on the Freedom to Vote Act, important legislation that is necessary to ensure that our government remains by the people and for the people, not politicians.

Similar to the For the People Act, which the House has passed both this term and last, the Freedom to Vote Act sets basic nationwide standards for how elections are conducted and ensures that the voices of everyday American voters are heard in Washington. It will work in tandem with the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to restore critical protections of the 1965 Voting Rights Act and combat racial discrimination in voting. Together, these two bills will safeguard our democracy from both current and future threats.

Ultimately, the Freedom to Vote Act is about ensuring that people, not politicians, hold the power in our government.

Let's talk for a moment about what this bill is and what it isn't. The Freedom to Vote Act would set national standards to protect the freedom to vote, end partisan redistricting, ensure sound election administration, and fix our broken campaign finance system.

These key provisions are widely supported by the American people, including majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. People are tired of cycles of chaos, followed by inaction, when it comes to our elections. The most basic foundational element of our democracy deserves to be treated with seriousness, urgency, and care. We cannot stand by as discriminatory voter laws, partisan gerrymandering, and dark money drowns out the voices of American voters.

As for what this bill does not do, contrary to what some of our colleagues across the aisle--and particularly Mitch McConnell--have claimed, the Freedom to Vote Act is not an unconstitutional power grab.

Our Founding Fathers may not have anticipated all the ways our country would change over the centuries and the ways in which we would need to adapt, but they were really, really good in anticipating the evil that men might do in pursuit of power, including anticipating efforts to undermine the most precious value enshrined in the Constitution, the right to a government chosen by, for, and of the people.

One of the ways the Framers did this was in Article I, Section 4 of the Constitution, which allowed States, in general, to regulate the time, place, and manner of elections to Federal offices, like Congress, but with a really important exception. The second half of that section says, ``Congress may at any time make or alter such State regulations.''

Why did the Framers do this? Because they already knew of instances in which State legislators might try to corrupt the election process in order to impact the Federal Government, even as they were drafting the Constitution. And isn't that where we are today?

We have States that are trying to make it harder for people who live in cities and people of color to vote. We have State legislatures proposing to overturn the results of the last election and future elections if the party in power in that State doesn't like the candidate that the people voted for.

We have State legislatures proposing to politicize professional election staff and procedures with bills that would allow partisan legislatures to overthrow the Presidential electors chosen by the people and substitute electors who will vote for another candidate.

That is why it is so important that Congress act to fulfill what may be its most sacred obligation under the Constitution to protect the right of the American people to chose their own representatives rather than letting elected officials manipulate that process to stay in power.

If the Senate again fails to fulfill its responsibility with the filibuster intact, then it is time for the filibuster to go.

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