[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 6 (Monday, January 10, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S112-S113]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                               Elections

  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam President, when Tennesseans go to the polls and 
cast their vote, they do so with the hope that the person whose name 
appears on their ballot will do what is best for their community. They 
expect that person to show respect for the Constitution and the rule of 
law and to protect the integrity of our most important institutions.
  The people place a great deal of trust in us, and I don't think it is 
too much to ask that we return the favor by recognizing that there are 
limits to how far the Federal Government can expand its reach. Many of 
my Democratic colleagues, however, would disagree with me on that 
premise. They returned to Washington this week ready to squander the 
people's trust on yet another power grab.
  The election bill they are prepared to break the Senate rules to pass 
has failed multiple times, under multiple titles, and in different 
packaging. This has gone on for the last 20 years. But this latest 
round has one thing in common with all the other drafts that found 
their rightful place in the trash can: It has nothing to do with 
protecting the ballot box.
  This is not a voting rights bill; it is a sweeping takeover of our 
democracy and a shocking attack on the constitutional authority of the 
States to determine the time, place, and manner of elections. That is 
right. This is not in statute; it is article I, section 4 of the 
Constitution.
  I have said it before. I will say it again. These proposals read like 
something concocted by someone who has never stepped foot behind the 
scenes of their local polling place. It is concocted by people who 
probably have never spent 10 minutes as a poll worker carrying out and 
implementing an election, and they absolutely have never served a term 
on a local election commission.
  It seems that our friends across the aisle are looking at all of 
these local elected and appointed officials who work elections and are 
saying: We think that you just are incapable and inept to carry out an 
election.
  How disrespectful can you be?
  The Federal Government has got to come in and save the day and take 
away the ability of your local elections registrar to carry forward an 
election.
  I hope my colleagues will think about the message that they are 
sending because there is nothing in these proposals that would help 
your State and local leaders secure elections, and, in fact, many 
provisions would actually weaken the checks already in place against 
voter fraud.
  This is the opposite of how it should be. It should be easy to vote 
and hard to cheat, not the other way around. And the people of this 
country and elected leaders have been saying no to the Federal takeover 
of elections for the past 20 years. But here we are again having to 
once again stand up against this desperate attempt to undermine voters 
and empower cheats and criminals by mandating ballot harvesting while 
rejecting voter ID requirements. That is in their bill--got to do it, 
got to allow ballot harvesting. That is where shenanigans happen.
  We can't have voter ID requirements--no, no, no. We don't want 
anybody at the ballot box having to prove who they are. But be ready to 
show that ID if you want to get on a plane, if you want to get in a 
government building, if you want to go buy a bottle of wine. Be ready 
to show that ID, prove your age, and prove who you are.
  Their bill would also centralize power over elections in the hands of 
faceless, unaccountable bureaucrats--that is right--not your friends 
and neighbors working the polls and making decisions and serving on 
local election commissions. You will never know the people who say, 
``Hey, you are too stupid to figure out how to run these elections,'' 
because the Democrats are going to take all the power and authority 
away from your local friends and neighbors and send it to bureaucrats 
here in DC.
  And they would embrace a one-size-fits-all rule book that any 
seasoned election worker knows will throw polling places into chaos.
  In my home county in Tennessee, we have people who have worked these 
polls for years. They are dedicated. They are good people. I don't know 
their political party. I just know that they show up to make certain 
that our elections are free and fair, and I appreciate them.
  Since the first iteration of this bill reared its head, the American 
people have seen it for what it is: an activist-driven, power-hungry 
solution in search of problems that do not exist. That is right; the 
problems don't exist.
  The Democrats want you to believe that America as we know it will end 
if they don't pass this bill. They are acting like elections are in 
crisis. But do you know what? I think maybe it is the Democratic Party 
that is in crisis. They are staring at decades-high inflation, crime 
spikes, cascading public health failures, a southern border on the 
verge of collapse, embarrassing approval ratings, infighting so intense 
that watching the nightly news feels like you are watching a soap 
opera.
  They can't get their arms around COVID. They can't figure it out. I 
just heard coming over here that the CDC is now going to mandate that 
insurance companies have to supply home testing kits for all of their 
enrollees. I mean, yeah, I think it is a party in crisis. And do you 
know what? The Democrats right now, they are desperate for a 
distraction. Oh, just give them something to change the narrative. And 
the benefit of this one, if they could pull this off, is that they 
won't have to worry about the American people holding them accountable 
for the fallout because they now will control the ballot process; they 
will control the election commissions.
  And do you know what they are saying to the American public? Your 
vote doesn't count.
  We have treasured one person, one vote. We have treasured fair, free, 
honest elections. And the Democrats are ready to throw it away for a 
power grab that is unprecedented and is incredibly disrespectful of the 
men and women in each of our counties who give of their time and work 
to hold these elections.
  This is more than just another example of partisanship holding the 
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[[Page S113]]

hostage. And it is partisanship. It is ``We have to do this, take away 
power from the people.''
  Oh, isn't it supposed to be a government of the people, by the 
people, and for the people? But, oh, I think my colleagues across the 
aisle have forgotten that. They think it is government for the 
powerful, government that is in control of one party and one party's 
agenda. That is what they are thinking.
  This attack on the integrity of our elections is a complete betrayal 
of the trust that the people have given elected officials because we 
have colleagues across the aisle who are basically looking at their 
constituents in their various States and saying: Your opinion does not 
count.
  Think about that.
  You are not good enough. You are not smart enough. You can't handle 
it. So, hey--Federal Government--we are going to come and save you from 
yourselves. That is what they think.
  It is their constitutional prerogative to determine the time, place, 
and manner of their own elections. That is what is given to the State 
legislatures. It is their prerogative, and it is not the job of 
Congress or the President or a battalion of unelected, faceless, 
nameless, unaccountable bureaucrats to burn down the goalposts when 
things at the ballot box don't go their way. But that is exactly what 
the Democratic Party is trying to do this week.
  So you never will be able to complain to them. They want to hold all 
the cards. The purpose of this latest power grab isn't to make the 
people feel secure. Its purpose is to inject hysteria into what should 
be a very serious conversation about actually protecting the vote.
  Everything the people hear from the Democrats this week will have 
been scripted to minimize truth and maximize chaos. Remember, they want 
you to believe that elections are in crisis.
  ``We have to fix it.''
  But, fortunately, Tennesseans and the American people know better 
than to believe what they are hearing on the nightly news and to 
believe what is coming from the Democratic Party. They also know there 
is only one reason a political party would work this hard to make 
elections easier for them to manipulate.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the vote 
scheduled at 5:30 commence immediately.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.