Chris Coons: “I want to thank my colleagues from Connecticut, from Virginia, and in particular my colleague from Minnesota, who has…”

“I want to thank my colleagues from Connecticut, from Virginia, and in particular my colleague from Minnesota, who has done such a great job--not just today but as the ranking member of the Rules Committee--in fighting for expanding the right to vote in the context of this pandemic. My colleague from Minnesota has stood to ask for unanimous consent for the enactment of the Natural Disaster and Emergency Ballot Act, which is a broad and bold framework to ensure access to the ballot in every State in the United States in the midst of this ongoing pandemic. We are just 4 months from the election--126 days to be exact--and as day after day the number of infections has risen, it is clear that this pandemic is far from over. So far, 125,000 Americans have died and 2.5 million have been infected. It is completely reasonable for millions of Americans who are senior citizens, who have preexisting conditions, and who have particular vulnerabilities to be concerned about the risk they might take if they go to a polling place to vote. Today is primary day in Colorado, in Oklahoma, and in Utah, and we have seen in primary days just passed in Kentucky, in Georgia, and in Wisconsin, example after example where the State officials involved did not have the resources to hold elections where everyone could safely participate in a pandemic and hadn't worked out the plans.…”