[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 114 (Thursday, July 14, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5165-S5166]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. WYDEN (for himself and Mr. Merkley):
  S. 3214. A bill to amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to allow 
all eligible voters to vote by mail in Federal elections, to amend the 
National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to provide for automatic voter 
registration; to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
  Mr. WYDEN: Mr. President, today I am introducing the Vote by Mail Act 
of 2016 to ensure that all registered voters have the opportunity to 
fully participate in our democracy.
  Fifty-one years ago, President Johnson urged Congress to pass the 
Voting Rights Act. In the face of implacable opposition from southern 
states, Johnson clearly laid out the stakes: ``Every American citizen 
must have an equal right to vote. There is no reason which can excuse 
the denial of that right. There is no duty which weighs more heavily on 
us than the duty we have to ensure that right.''
  Sadly, half a century after that law began to remove the most 
egregious obstacles to voting, Americans are facing new barriers to 
exercising their fundamental right to vote. Across the country, there 
are stories of long lines, inexplicable purges of voter rolls and new 
requirements that make it harder for citizens to vote. There is no 
excuse for accepting this state of affairs.
  There is no excuse for citizens in Arizona to wait 5 hours to cast 
their ballot. There is no excuse for citizens in Rhode Island to find 
two out of every three polling places have closed. There is no excuse 
whatsoever for poor communities and minority communities across this 
country to see their polling places shuttered.
  Seniors and disabled Americans should not have to wait in long lines 
or struggle to reach polling places. Working parents shouldn't have to 
choose between going to work or going to vote. Voting should not be a 
test of endurance. It should not be a Kafkaesque experience in 
defeating bureaucracy.
  Increasingly, too many voters show up to the polls on election day, 
only to find out their name is inexplicably missing from the voter 
rolls, or their

[[Page S5166]]

ID doesn't meet some new, more restrictive requirements. There is no 
excuse for our government to turn away citizens, to say their voice 
does not count, because of a clerical error or an unjust technicality.
  These grossly unfair obstacles have sprouted like weeds across our 
Nation ever since the Supreme Court overturned large portions of the 
Voting Rights Act in 2013. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, 
just this year, 17 States have passed new laws or rules to make it 
harder for their citizens to vote.
  Thankfully there is a solution. My home State of Oregon has led the 
Nation in making voting more accessible. In Oregon, every voter 
receives a ballot 2 or 3 weeks before an election date. With the 
arrival of that ballot, complete with candidate information and issue 
pamphlets, every Oregonian has ample time to research candidates and 
issues, think about them, discuss them with friends and family, and 
then vote. All in their own time. Rather than waiting in long lines, 
Oregonians can mail their ballot back, or drop it off at ballot 
collection sites, many of which are open 24-7. No one has to take time 
off work just to exercise his or her constitutional rights to vote.
  Vote-by-mail won't stop every state legislature from devising new 
ways to suppress voter turnout. But one thing it will do is it will 
give voters more time to fight back. When Americans have two or three 
weeks to vote, they'll have more time to challenge registration 
problems. There's more time for citizens to defend their rights.
  Oregon has been voting by mail locally since 1981. When I was first 
elected to the U.S. Senate in 1996 it was the first time vote-by-mail 
was used for a federal race. In 2000 Oregon went to an entirely vote-
by-mail system including for President of the United States. Since then 
we have consistently had voter turnout rates that are among the highest 
in the country. Oregon voting rates are especially high among young 
voters and in midterm elections. As an added benefit, studies have 
shown it saved taxpayers money to boot.
  Oregon is also leading the charge in another important aspect of our 
voting system--voter registration. Our representative democracy 
requires active participation from all our citizens--regardless of 
one's economic resources or state of residence. This is particularly 
the case when it comes to ensuring that the voter registration prqciess 
is widely accessible and easy to navigate. In order to vote, eligible 
citizens must first register--a step in the political process that has 
historically been difficult to navigate and subject to onerous burdens 
designed to exclude citizens of color and lower-income citizens from 
easily casting a ballot.
  Oregon is the first state in the nation to launch an automatic voter 
registration system, which automatically registers eligible citizens 
who visit the Department of Motor Vehicles, unless they ``opt out.'' 
This year alone, Oregon has successfully registered over 200,000 new 
voters. Our governor, Kate Brown, deserves enormous credit for 
shepherding this reform into law.
  So my proposition is the rest of our country should follow Oregon's 
lead by offering all voters a chance to vote by mail, and automatically 
registering eligible voters. To me, this is a no-brainer.
  Today I introduced new legislation for national vote-by-mail, which 
builds on Oregon's system and bills I introduced in 2007 and 2010. My 
plan is simple: Every voter in a Federal election will receive a ballot 
in the mail. The Federal Government, through the Postal Service, will 
assist states with the costs of mailing ballots to registered voters. 
States can keep their current polling practices if they wish, but those 
states that choose a full vote-by-mail system will see their election 
costs significantly drop. Additionally, this bill will shift the burden 
of registration from the individual to the government. It calls on 
state governments to collaborate with State motor vehicle agencies to 
maintain updated voter registration rolls for all citizens who apply 
for a driver's license and who do not ask to remain unregistered. This 
practice will serve to both increase the accuracy of our voter rolls 
and reduce the burden on individual voters by requiring state 
governments to ensure that eligible citizens are registered.
  My hope is this can ignite a new campaign to make it easier, not 
harder for Americans to vote. Because vote-by-mail and automatic 
registration are just the first steps in fighting back against those 
who would disenfranchise their fellow citizens to gain a political 
edge.
  I know many of my colleagues and many voters are cynical about the 
chances of passing real reforms in this partisan day and age. My view 
is voting rights are simply too important to abandon the field to 
special interests who would manipulate our government. So once again I 
urge my colleagues and urge voters to call for real reform to our 
voting system and ensure that every citizen who wants to vote has that 
opportunity.
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