Madeleine Dean on Government Reform

Voter ID laws limit who has access to the ballot box

A: To secure the voting rights of all our residents, we must increase access. President Trump's commission on election integrity was a barely concealed attempt at limiting who has access to the ballot box on Election Day. We are a democracy, a nation that prizes and relies on the beliefs of all our people.

Here in Pennsylvania, the Republicans tried the same tactic in the form of Voter ID laws. But together we fought back that attempt to limit our electoral freedom.

In Congress, I will work to pass legislation that protects every individual's right to vote, while simultaneously working to remove or prevent any policy limiting the electoral freedom of all voters. Additionally, I will work to protect our elections and our voting machines from any outside influence and tampering, ensuring the integrity of each ballot cast.

Holiday on election day; revamp for easier voting access.

• This bill expands voter registration and voting access, makes Election Day a federal holiday, and limits removing voters from voter rolls.
• The bill provides for states to establish independent, nonpartisan redistricting commissions.
• The bill also sets forth provisions for sharing intelligence information with state election officials, and supporting states in securing their election systems, and establishing the National Commission to Protect U.S. Democratic Institutions.
• This bill addresses campaign spending, by expanding the ban on foreign nationals contributing to or spending on elections; and expanding disclosure rules.
• This bill establishes an alternative campaign funding system [with] federal matching of small contributions for qualified candidates.
• The bill also requires candidates for President and Vice President to submit 10 years of tax returns.

Opposing argument from the Heritage Foundation, 2/1/2019: HR1 federalizes and micromanages the election process administered by the states, imposing unnecessary mandates on the states and reversing the decentralization of the American election process. What HR1 Would Do:

• Seize the authority of states to regulate the voting process by forcing states to implement early voting, automatic voter registration, same-day registration, online voter registration, and no-fault absentee balloting.
• Make it easier to commit fraud at the polls through same-day registration, as election officials have no time to verify the accuracy of voter registration.
• Degrade the accuracy of registration lists by automatically registering individuals from state databases, such as DMV.
• Cripple the effectiveness of state voter ID laws by allowing individuals to vote without an ID and merely signing a statement in which they claim they are who they say they are.

Legislative outcome: Passed House 234-193-5 on 3/8/19; received with no action in Senate thru 12/31/2019

Sponsored bill to expand voter registration and voter access.

S.1 and H.R.1: For the People Act: This bill addresses voter access, election integrity and security, campaign finance, and ethics for the three branches of government:

• The bill expands voter registration (e.g., automatic and same-day registration) and voting access (e.g., vote-by-mail and early voting).
• It also limits removing voters from voter rolls.
• The bill requires states to establish independent redistricting commissions to carry out congressional redistricting.
• The bill requires the President, the Vice President, and certain candidates for those offices to disclose 10 years of tax returns.

Sen. John Thune in OPPOSITION (9/22/21): This radical legislation would provide for a massive federal takeover of our electoral system, chill free speech, and turn the Federal Election Commission--the primary enforcer of election law in this country--into a partisan body. This radical legislation would undermine state voter ID laws and make it easier for those here illegally to vote.

And, most of all, it would put Washington, not state governments, in charge of elections--for no reason at all. There is no systemic problem with state election laws. And state election officials do not need Washington bureaucrats dictating how many days of early voting they should offer, or how they should manage mail-in ballots.

Biden Administration in SUPPORT (3/1/21): In the wake of an unprecedented assault on our democracy, a never before seen effort to ignore, undermine, and undo the will of the people, and a newly aggressive attack on voting rights taking place right now all across the country, this landmark legislation is urgently needed to protect the fundamental right to vote and the integrity of our elections, and to repair and strengthen American democracy.

Legislative Outcome: Passed House 220-210-2 on March 3, 2021 (rollcall #62); received in the Senate on March 11; no further Senate action during 2021.

Sponsored impeachment of Trump for inciting insurrection.

GovTrack.us summary of H.Res.24: Article of Impeachment Against Former President Donald John Trump:

The House impeached President Trump for the second time, charging him with incitement of insurrection. The impeachment resolution accused the President of inciting the violent riot that occurred on January 6, when his supporters invaded the United States Capitol injuring and killing Capitol Police and endangering the safety of members of Congress. It cites statements from President Trump to the rioters such as `if you don't fight like hell you're not going to have a country anymore,` as well as persistent lies that he won the 2020 Presidential election.

Legislative Outcome:

Bill introduced Jan 11, 2021, with 217 co-sponsors; House rollcall vote #117 passed 232-197-4 on Jan. 13th (a YES vote in the House was to impeach President Trump for inciting insurrection); Senate rollcall vote #59 rejected 57-43-0 on Feb. 13th (2/3 required in Senate to pass; a YES vote in the Senate would have found President Trump guilty, but since he had already left office at that time, a guilty verdict would have barred Trump from running for President in the future)

Sponsored bill for statehood for Washington D.C.

Legislative Summary: This bill provides for admission into the United States of the state of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth, composed of most of the territory of the District of Columbia. The commonwealth shall be admitted to the Union on an equal footing with the other states. District territory excluded from the commonwealth shall be known as the Capital and shall be the seat of the federal government. The bill maintains the federal government's authority over military lands and specified other property. The bill provides for expedited consideration of a joint resolution repealing the 23rd Amendment to the Constitution [the current rule for D.C.].

WETM 18-Elmira analysis: The House of Representatives passed a bill that would make Washington D.C. into a state. While Democrats say it's time to make D.C. a state, Republicans say the motivation is purely political.

D.C. House Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) introduced this bill and says district residents deserve full representation in Congress. "D.C. residents are taxed without representation and cannot consent to the laws under which they as American citizens must live," Norton said.

While Democrats say this is about fairness, Republicans say this isn't about the people, it's about the politics. As a state, D.C. would likely add two new Democrats to the Senate.

"This is about a Democrat power grab," Congressman Fred Keller (R-Penn.) said. Keller and Congressman James Comer (R-Ky.) say Democrats are forcing this issue through for one reason. "HR 51 is not really about voting representation. It's about Democrats consolidating their power in Washington," Comer said.

Legislative Outcome: Passed House 216-208-6 on 4/22/21 (rollcall #132); introduced in Senate with 45 co-sponsors but no further Senate action during 2021.

Sponsored "Protecting Our Democracy" to restrict president.

H.R.5314, "Protecting Our Democracy Act," addresses issues involving

1. abuses of presidential power;
2. checks and balances, accountability, and transparency; and
3. election integrity and security.

• requires the President to submit to Congress specified materials relating to certain pardons,
• prohibits presidential self-pardons,
• suspends the statute of limitations for federal offenses committed by a sitting President or Vice President,
• prohibits the acceptance of foreign or domestic emoluments,
• imposes limits on presidential declarations of emergencies,
• requires DOJ to maintain a log of specified communications between it and the White House,
• increases whistleblower protections, and
• requires a candidate for President or Vice President to provide copies of tax returns for the 10 most recent taxable years.

Opinion by Rep. Brooks (R-AL-5) to vote NO, 12/9/21: Brooks voted "No" on H.R. 5314, a bill that perpetuates the now-debunked Russian Collusion claims that have resulted in indictments against the Democrat shills that fabricated it. Brooks said, "Trump Derangement Syndrome does not do justice to the word 'obsession'. HR 5314 is a list of grievances against President Trump that go back to 2016." Brooks concluded, "The American people would be better served if Socialist Democrats spent their time investigating Hunter Biden's shady art and influence-peddling deals that reek of corruption. The American people would be better served if the House considered border security legislation, welfare give-a-way program rollbacks, or bills aimed at addressing rising prices. Instead, we're wasting time on partisan, unnecessary legislation that's going nowhere in the Senate."

Legislative Outcome: Passed House 220-208-6 on 12/9/2021, Roll no. 440); introduced in Senate on 12/13/21; no further Senate action during 2021.

Trump obstructed Congress by ignoring every subpoena.

The [Congressional report on Impeachment] describes the second charge against President Trump: obstruction of Congress. President Trump did everything in his power to obstruct the House's impeachment inquiry. Following his direction not to cooperate with the inquiry, the White House and other agencies refused to produce a single document in response to Congressional subpoenas. President Trump also attempted to muzzle witnesses, threatening to damage their careers if they agreed to testify, and even attacked one witness during her live testimony before Congress.

To their great credit, many witnesses from across government--including from the National Security Council, the Department of State, and the Department of Defense--ignored the President's unlawful orders and cooperated with the inquiry. In the end, however, nine senior officials followed President Trump's direction and continue to defy duly authorized Congressional subpoenas.

Other Presidents have recognized their obligation to provide information to Congress under these circumstances. President Trump's stonewall, by contrast, was categorical, indiscriminate, and without precedent in American history. The Constitution grants the "sole Power of Impeachment" to the House of Representatives. Within our system of checks and balances, the President may not decide what constitutes a valid impeachment inquiry. Nor may he ignore lawful subpoenas for evidence and testimony or direct others to do so. If a President had such authority, he could block Congress from learning facts bearing upon impeachment in the House or trial in the Senate and could thus control a power that exists to restrain his own abuses.

The evidence shows clearly that President Trump has assumed this power for himself and, left unchecked, the President will continue to obstruct Congress through unlawful means.

Trump mistakes himself for a monarch.

Impeachment is the Constitution's final answer to a President who mistakes himself for a monarch. When the President concludes that free and fair elections threaten his continued grasp on power, and therefore seeks to corrupt or interfere with them, he denies the very premise of our constitutional system. The American people choose their leaders; a President who wields power to destroy opponents or manipulate elections is a President who rejects democracy itself.

As Madison recognized, 'In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: You must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it control itself.' Impeachment is the House's last and most extraordinary resort when faced with a President who threatens our constitutional system. It is a terrible power, but only 'because it was forged to counter a terrible power: the despot who deems himself to be above the law.' The consideration of articles of impeachment is always a sad and solemn undertaking. In the end, it is the House--speaking for the Nation as a whole--that must decide whether the President's conduct rises to the level of "high Crimes and Misdemeanors" warranting impeachment.