OAN’s Noah Herring
5:44 PM – Monday, July 10, 2023
House Republicans introduced election reform legislation on Monday that they say will make elections much more secure.
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The House Administration Committee chose Atlanta, Georgia, as the official meeting point to introduce the bill. The committee decided on Atlanta as a nod to Georgia’s 2021 voting law which added additional ID for mail-in ballots, limited ballot drop boxes and prohibited people from bringing food and water to voters waiting in lines.
The legislation prompted a lawsuit from the Justice department and drew controversy across the country, including a decision by the MLB to move the All-Star game out of Atlanta.
Those in opposition of the Georgia law argued that it would make it more difficult to vote and that it would disenfranchise people of color (POC). On Monday, Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil (R-Wis.), the sponsor of the new House Republican bill, said that these beliefs were a false narrative since voter turnout increased between 2020 and 2022.
The proposed House GOP bill makes federal changes to help states with election administration, including mandating that the Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration to give states access to voter data completely free of charge. This would reportedly allow states to have the ability to remove non-citizens and deceased individuals from voter polls.
The bill would also reform the REAL ID Act to require that people’s citizenship status be printed on their identification documents so that citizenship can be checked at the polls.
Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.) criticized Republicans for using Georgia’s SB 202 voting law as a model, claiming it was only enacted since former President Donald Trump lost the state of Georgia in 2020.
“The Big Lie origins of SB 202 mirror the Big Lie origins of the majority’s ACE Act. And the damaging effects of SB 202 on Georgia voters will be imposed upon all Americans if the ACE Act is enacted nationally,” he said.
While Republicans control the House, the bill is likely to be struck down by the Democrat-controlled Senate. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on Monday that Senate Democrats will not allow the bill to become law.
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