[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 6]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 8597]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              INTRODUCTION OF THE VOTE BY MAIL ACT OF 2017

                                  _____
                                 

                          HON. EARL BLUMENAUER

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 25, 2017

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, we are in the middle of national civics 
lesson, with unprecedented levels of citizen and grassroots activism 
driving political and policy conversations in communities across the 
country. It is ironic, then, that many states are trying to make it 
harder for Americans to participate in our democracy. On November 8, 
2016, according to the Brennan Center for Justice, fourteen states had 
new restrictions on voting in place for the first time in a 
presidential election. Restrictions like these have historically 
targeted minority and low-income voters. This disturbing trend in state 
action has mirrored the weakening of campaign finance restrictions and 
voting rights laws by the U.S. Supreme Court in recent years. Even as 
we witness a growing civic engagement, legal and political barriers 
rise to unjustly diminish individual voices.
  Expanding vote by mail is a clear and cost effective measure to make 
voting easier, not harder. Mail-in voting states Oregon, Washington, 
and Colorado saw among the highest voter turnout in the 2016 general 
election, especially notable for Oregon with nearly 250,000 new 
automatically registered voters. The Vote By Mail Act of 2017 will 
build on Oregon's successful reforms at the national level The 
legislation will require states to mail ballots to all eligible voters 
in federal elections at least two weeks before the election. Every 
registered American voter would have the ability to return their 
ballots through the mail, using prepaid envelopes, or drop them off at 
secure predetermined drop-off locations like a public library or county 
elections office.
  This bill also shifts 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.
  The Vote By Mail Act of 2017 is a vital step to restoring the mandate 
of American democracy.

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