Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) made the following statement after voting against consideration of Democrats’ multi-year partisan campaign to federalize American elections strip states of key election management decisions.
“Our elections are the hallmark of our democracy, and we should strive to increase both participation and integrity in this process. Many states, including Iowa, have enacted new laws aimed at boosting turnout and confidence in our elections. Democrats’ partisan election takeover would trump this progress by fundamentally overriding our election process. It would erode election integrity by banning state voter ID laws, preventing election officials from verifying voter eligibility, politicizing the federal election commission and legalizing ballot trafficking by political operatives, among other provisions. It would also supplement political campaigns with public dollars that could otherwise go to more pressing needs like rural health services.
“Make no mistake: this bill is not about voter rights, and after pushing it for several years, this bill is obviously not in response to the 2020 election, which had the greatest voter turnout in our history. This bill would upend our very well-run elections in Iowa and replace them with a new system from Washington. We ought to make it easier to vote and harder to cheat. This bill does not achieve that goal.”
