[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 126 (Monday, July 19, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S4938]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             VOTING RIGHTS

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, in response to the minority leader's 
statement about the changes in voting laws across America, the record 
speaks for itself. I believe the number is 17--17 States which have set 
out to specifically limit previous opportunities under law to vote.
  Is it a coincidence that 17 States would do these things? I don't 
think so. I think it is by design. That is why the Senate Rules 
Committee was in Georgia today, to talk specifically about the measures 
that they took after the last election.
  Remember, this is all being done in the context of a former 
President, the sorest loser in the history of the United States, and 
his Big Lie about what was wrong with the last election. Well, I can 
tell you what was not wrong with the last election. In many States, the 
turnout broke records. More Americans eligible to vote turned up to 
vote, and that is a good thing in a democracy.
  When it comes to allegations of fraud, all of the money that has been 
spent on lawsuits, all of the allegations of voter fraud that have been 
investigated, it turns out to be a handful of cases, maybe a dozen out 
of millions of votes cast in the United States. So there is no argument 
for changing election voting laws based on fraud. There certainly is no 
argument when it comes to the outcome of the election. That was clear, 
and it has been to everyone except one former President for a long 
time. Yet the Republicans, when in control of State legislatures, are 
by design trying to make it more difficult for some people to vote. 
Why? The answer is very simple: The demographics of America are not on 
the side of the Republican Party.
  The new voters in this country are moving away from them, away from 
Donald Trump, away from their party creed that they preach. Instead, 
they are moving to be Independents or even vote on the other side. To 
argue and fight against that, the Republicans in legislative settings 
are reducing and restricting the opportunity to vote. That is what it 
is all about.
  The Senator from Kentucky attributes it to hysteria. It is not. It is 
a genuine concern over whether in this country, where democracy is our 
creed and our goal in every election, we have the most participation, 
fair participation, by eligible voters that we have ever had, and we 
continue to build on that.

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