On the recordMay 14, 2020
I come to the floor today to urge the Senate to immediately take action to address the issue of elections and specifically to address technical changes to the $400 million in election security funding passed in the CARES Act and to talk about the coronavirus threat to our democracy itself. Sixteen States have already postponed their Presidential primaries or transitioned their primaries to almost entirely voting by mail. We have seen Republican and Democratic Governors across the country, from States like West Virginia, Indiana--the Presiding Officer's State--New York, and Kentucky, issue waivers allowing all voters to cast their ballots by mail during the pandemic. This includes States that used to have requirements that you have to give a reason to even get a mail-in ballot to vote from home. Both Democratic and Republican Governors have waived it--not in every State but in a number of States. While it is important that individual States are taking action to protect voters during this pandemic, it is the responsibility of us, of Congress, to ensure that States have the funds they need to make our elections more resilient and to make sure voters don't have to risk their health to cast their ballots. We must do this because, as we have seen over the last several weeks, not all States are doing everything they can to protect voters. That is sad, but it is true. What is coming before us in the fall is a national election.…
