[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 160 (Wednesday, September 16, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5618-S5619]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                           Election Security

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, in only 48 days, the American people 
will


 =========================== NOTE =========================== 

  
  On page S5618, September 16, 2020, third column, the following 
appears: Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent 
that the order for the quorum call be rescinded. The PRESIDING 
OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. ELECTION SECURITY 
Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, in only 48 days, the American people 
will
  
  The online Record has been corrected to read: Mr. SCHUMER. Madam 
President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum 
call be rescinded. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is 
so ordered. Recognition of the Minority Leader The PRESIDING 
OFFICER. The Democratic leader is recognized. ELECTION SECURITY 
Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, in only 48 days, the American people 
will


 ========================= END NOTE ========================= 



[[Page S5619]]

head to the polls to cast their ballots in an election that, by 
necessity, will be conducted in a much different fashion than in nearly 
any election in our Nation's history. Because of COVID-19, there will 
likely be a historic increase in mail-in ballots.
  Mail-in voting is a process that is well established in our country. 
Several States have conducted elections this way for years without any 
issue at all. Because of COVID-19, there may also be some delays in 
determining the results of the election while every ballot is counted. 
This, too, has happened before, but there is no doubt that this 
election will be unique, and it means that leaders from both sides of 
the aisle should be joining together now to ensure the integrity of the 
election and the public's confidence in the result.
  Sadly, there are some who are systematically undermining public 
confidence in the voting process and irresponsibly fanning suspicions 
and conspiracy theories about the legitimacy of election results. At 
the top of the list here is, unfortunately, once again, the President 
of the United States, who has exploited and capitalized on fears about 
holding an election in the middle of COVID-19 to attack mail-in voting 
and to advance comically false claims of widespread voter fraud. The 
President has done both of those. He has attacked mail-in voting and 
made these false claims of fraud.
  We are talking about the integrity of our elections here. This is the 
wellspring of our democracy. It is fundamental for our country, 
something that American soldiers have fought and died for--and the 
President trifles with it, and, of course, our Senate Republican 
colleagues go along.
  So, today, we are doing two things in this regard because we have a 
responsibility to do everything we can to see that this election does 
not mark the beginning of a new age when our election results are 
doubted, conspiracy theories flourish, and our grand democracy is 
tarnished around the world. If we allow this kind of malicious 
tampering with the wellspring of our democracy in terms of people's 
trust in it, it is the beginning of the end.
  Donald Trump doesn't care. We know he only cares about himself. The 
Senate Republicans don't say a peep. We know they are afraid of Donald 
Trump. Even when they disagree with him, they remain quiet, and too 
often they agree with him.
  We cannot allow our people to lose faith in elections, and we must do 
everything to ensure that they are conducted in a fair way that the 
American people will accept, despite COVID and all the problems it 
creates.
  So, this morning, Senator Sanders and I have written a letter to the 
Republican leader asking him to work with us to establish a special 
bipartisan committee with equal representation from both parties to 
guarantee the integrity of our election process.
  The committee should focus on three issues: one, confirm the security 
of and confidence in our mail-in systems, our vote-by-mail systems; 
two, measures to ensure that every vote is counted; and three, discuss 
and prepare for possible postelection scenarios.
  The function of the committee would be to hold hearings about what is 
being done around the country to make certain that our public 
institutions are prepared to conduct a smooth and reliable election, 
free from voter suppression and intimidation, that every vote will be 
counted and there will be confidence in the outcome.
  Senator Sanders and I and many in our caucus--including Senator 
Klobuchar, whom I will mention in a minute--feel very, very strongly 
that we have to do something, and this bipartisan committee can ensure 
the American people that the Senate is on top of this.
  We hope the Republican leader will accept our request. We hope he 
will not run away from his responsibility to ensure there are fair 
elections. We hope that he will not go along with Donald Trump's 
dangerous rhetoric about the fairness of our elections.
  Later today, the Senator from Minnesota and ranking member of the 
Rules Committee, Senator Klobuchar, and I will be speaking with a 
bipartisan group of secretaries of state. We will be getting a briefing 
on the state of our election preparedness around the country. I expect 
they will reiterate their call for another major priority being blocked 
by Senate Republicans: election assistance funding.
  I am hopeful we can still find agreement on a bipartisan basis to 
help our States with critical funding to prepare for this historic 
election. This issue is above partisan politics. It is the essence of 
our democracy. It is disgraceful that Republicans are playing games 
with this--perhaps for electoral advantage, perhaps for fear of 
President Trump--but we will not let it happen.
  We, as a caucus, repeat to the American people: The best way to 
prevent an election from being manipulated or stolen is to vote. The 
more people who vote and the earlier they vote, when they can vote 
early, the better off our democracy will be