[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 5350-5351]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              VOTE-BY-MAIL

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I rise today to warn of a gathering threat 
to American's most fundamental constitutional right; that is, the right 
to vote. Fifty-one years ago, President Johnson urged the Congress to 
pass the Voting Rights Act. In the face of implacable opposition from 
Southern States, President Johnson laid out the stakes. He said:

       Every American must have an equal right to vote. There is 
     no excuse 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 
offensive obstacles to voting, Americans now face new barriers to 
exercising their fundamental right to vote. Across our land, there are 
stories of long lines, inexplicable purges of voter rolls, and new 
requirements that make it still harder for our people to vote. There is 
absolutely no excuse for accepting this sorry 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 America 
to see their polling places shuttered.
  Seniors and disabled Americans should not have to wait in long lines 
or struggle to reach polling places in America. Working parents should 
not have to choose between going to work and going to vote. Voting 
should not be a test of endurance. It should not be a Kafkaesque 
experience in defeating bureaucracy and wading through redtape. 
Increasingly, too many voters show up at the polls on election day, 
only to find that their name--somehow, magically--has gone missing from 
the voter rolls or their ID does not meet some new, even more 
burdensome, even more restrictive requirement.
  There is no excuse for our government to turn away citizens and to 
say their vote does not count because of a clerical error or an unjust 
technicality. These grossly unfair obstacles have sprouted like weeds 
across our country 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.
  Let me repeat that. Seventeen States in America, just this year, have 
passed new laws, new rules, and new hurdles for our people who want to 
vote. Thankfully, there is a solution. My home State of Oregon has led 
the country in making voting more accessible. In Oregon, every voter 
receives a ballot 2 or 3 weeks before election day. Ballots should be 
arriving in mailboxes across the State over the next few days. Every 
Oregonian has ample time to research candidates and issues.
  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. Nobody has to take time off from work just to exercise his or her 
constitutional right.
  So let me repeat. In our State, we have made this work. Every voter 
gets a ballot 2 or 3 weeks before an election date. Now, vote-by-mail 
is not going to stop every State legislature in America from devising 
new ways to suppress voter turnout. Certainly, some State officials in 
our country have worked very hard to dream up new ways to limit the 
franchise.
  But here is why the Oregon antidote is so important. If there is a 
problem, our State gives voters more time to fight back. When Americans 
have 2 or 3 weeks to vote, they will have more time to challenge 
registration problems. There is more time for citizens to defend their 
rights.
  Oregon has been voting by mail since I was first elected to the 
Senate in 1996, and we went to all vote-by-mail in 2000. Since then, we 
have had consistently higher voter turnout rates than other parts of 
the country. We have consistently had voter turnout rates that are 
among the highest in the Nation.
  Oregon voting rates are especially high among young people and in 
midterm elections. As an added benefit--this should appeal to all 
Senators--studies have shown that it saves money, to boot. So you have 
a system that voters like, gives them more time to reflect, is more 
efficient, and saves money, to boot. That is a pretty appealing 
trifecta, it seems to me, for democracy. So my proposition today is 
that the rest of the country ought to follow Oregon's lead, and all 
Americans, from one end of the country to another, ought to have the 
chance to vote by mail.
  To me, this just is common sense. In fact, over the years, there were 
questions about who benefited from vote-by-mail? In fact, Oregonians 
put it on the ballot, because they said that everybody benefits from 
it. There was support all across the political spectrum. So today, I 
rolled out a new proposal for a national vote-by-mail. It is built on 
the Oregon system. The plan is simple. Every voter in a Federal 
election will receive a ballot in the mail.
  The Federal Government, through the Postal Service, would assist 
States with the cost 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 are going to see their election 
costs drop and drop significantly. My hope is that this proposal 
ignites a new campaign across the country to make it easier, not 
harder, for Americans to vote.

[[Page 5351]]

  Vote-by-mail is a first step in fighting back against those who would 
disenfranchise their fellow citizens to gain a political edge.
  For instance, in my view it also ought to be easier for Americans to 
register to vote. Again, my home State leads the way. Since January, 
every eligible voter is automatically registered to vote, eliminating 
extra trips to the motor vehicles department or the county clerk's 
office. In my view our Governor, Gov. Kate Brown, deserves enormous 
credit for leading the effort to turn this particular idea, this 
particular reform, into law.
  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 too important to abandon the field to special 
interests who would manipulate our government. That is why I mentioned 
that in Oregon there was some initial debate with respect to who might 
benefit, who might get a little bit of a partisan edge on the other 
side, and Oregon voters said: Nothing doing. We all think this is in 
our interests, making it easier to vote, making it easier to correct an 
error, and cheaper than the alternatives.
  This afternoon I urge my colleagues and voters to take advantage of 
this opportunity to promote real reform, reform where we have hard 
evidence that shows it actually works, to make sure every citizen in 
America who wants to vote has that opportunity. Oregon once again paves 
the way to making sure there are real solutions to an enormous 
challenge.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority whip.

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