UNITED STATES NEWS

House GOP seeks tighter voting rules in DC, which Democrats warn is model for national restrictions

Jun 7, 2023, 2:04 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans on Wednesday made a pitch to overhaul how elections are run in the District of Columbia, employing a conservative playbook to tighten voting rules that has been used in Georgia, Texas and other GOP-controlled states.

Democrats characterized the effort as an abuse of the authority Congress has over the District and a first step in imposing voting restrictions and stripping voter protections nationwide if Republicans regain full political power in Washington during next year’s elections.

Republicans used a joint committee hearing to criticize what they see as serious flaws and missteps in how the District has run elections. Although they provided no evidence of widespread fraud, they said election officials have mailed ballots to undeliverable addresses, failed to purge the rolls after voters die and neglected security measures to make their systems less susceptible to foreign interference.

“For years, DC’s elections have been mismanaged,” said Wisconsin Republican Rep. Bryan Steil, chairman of the House Administration Committee. “Our nation’s capital should be a beacon of democracy and a national model for excellence in election administration. This isn’t about who wins or loses elections, but rather ensuring voters have confidence in our elections.”

The Republican bill seeks numerous changes that have been pushed by GOP lawmakers across the country. Among other changes, it would prohibit mail ballots from being automatically sent to all voters, require all mail ballots — except those from military and overseas voters — to be received by the time polls close, restrict the use of drop boxes and eliminate same-day voter registration.

Republicans also want to revive a failed effort from earlier this year that would prevent non-citizens from being able to vote. The District is one of roughly 15 municipalities across the U.S. where non-citizens are allowed to cast a ballot in local elections.

The election proposals follow a successful effort in Congress earlier this year to promised to investigate everything from crime in the District to the way it’s managed.

Under a 1970s-era law called the Home Rule Act, the District can pass its own laws — but they then must survive a 60-day review period during which Congress and the president can override them.

The rejection of the criminal code overhaul earlier this year embittered members of the D.C. City Council and was seen by many Democrats as part of a wider trend across the U.S. of predominantly white legislative bodies dictating how cities with large minority populations can operate.

On Wednesday, Democrats on the House Oversight and Administration committees criticized the effort to tighten the district’s voting rules as part of a similar strategy. Several said the legislation, called the American Confidence in Elections Act, was an attempt to use the nation’s capital as a model for undermining voting rights and making access to the polls more difficult.

“If we are being honest, this hearing is not actually about Washington, D.C. This hearing, and the entire ACE Act, is about giving Republicans a platform to impose extreme restrictions on voters across this country,” said Democratic Rep. Joe Morelle, a member of the Administration committee.

In a statement, District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb said there is no evidence of widespread election irregularities or voter fraud in the District, where roughly 77 percent of registered voters are Democrats. Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also questioned the need for the legislation, which she described as a way to strip voter protections in a city with a large Black population.

“If there is no valid reason, I think it stands to conclude that the only real reason that we see this push is political,” said Ocasio-Cortez, a member of the Oversight committee. “To even have the idea of proposing the federal government strip voting rights in one of the Blackest cities of this country, that has a history of enslavement, a history of freed people seeking refuge here and then being punished with disenfranchisement, this cuts to the core of not just the present moment but American history.”

The hearing also deepened the tension between District leaders’ desire to have full power over their own policies and the unusual authority Congress has over them. Democratic Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District’s non-voting delegate in Congress, said it was another reason to continue pushing for D.C. statehood.

Wendy Weiser, the vice president of the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, said: “D.C residents, like all citizens, desire and deserve self-political, self-determination, a say over what happens in their community, and a voice in the national government over what happens in the country as well.”

___

The Associated Press coverage of race and voting receives support from the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation. See more about AP’s democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

United States News

FILE - Protesters shout before a speaking engagement by Ben Shapiro on the campus of the University...

Associated Press

Few Americans say conservatives can speak freely on college campuses, AP-NORC/UChicago poll shows

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans view college campuses as far friendlier to liberals than to conservatives when it comes to free speech, with adults across the political spectrum seeing less tolerance for those on the right, according to a new poll. Overall, 47% of adults say liberals have “a lot” of freedom to express their views […]

3 hours ago

Fencer Kirsten Hawkes poses for a portrait at a fencing studio Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023, in San Dieg...

Associated Press

Forced kiss claim leads to ‘helplessness’ for accuser who turned to Olympics abuse-fighting agency

DENVER (AP) — When Kirsten Hawkes, a one-time elite fencer, reached out to her childhood coach for advice about starting her own fencing club, their meeting turned awkward right away. It began, she said, with an unwanted kiss on the lips when the two met at a bar during a fencing tournament in Minneapolis last […]

3 hours ago

FILE - President Joe Biden and California Gov. Gavin Newsom wait for reporters to leave the room du...

Associated Press

California governor to name Laphonza Butler, former Kamala Harris adviser, to Feinstein Senate seat

LOS ANGELES (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom will name Laphonza Butler, a Democratic strategist and adviser to Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, to fill the vacant U.S. Senate seat held by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a spokesman in his office said Sunday. In choosing Butler, Newsom fulfilled his pledge to appoint a Black woman […]

4 hours ago

File - The Southern University Human Jukebox marching band warms up before the 2023 National Battle...

Associated Press

Federal student loan payments are starting again. Here’s what you need to know

Federal student loan borrowers will need to start making payments again this month after a three-year-plus pause due to the pandemic.

4 hours ago

FILE - Former President Donald Trump speaks in Clinton Township, Mich., Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023. ...

Associated Press

Donald Trump says he will be in courtroom for New York trial scrutinizing his business practices

NEW YORK (AP) — With control over some of his most prized real estate holdings in jeopardy, former President Donald Trump says he will make a rare, voluntary trip to court Monday for the start of a civil trial in a lawsuit that has already resulted in a judge ruling that he committed fraud in […]

4 hours ago

Associated Press

A woman who fled the Maui wildfire on foot has died after weeks in a hospital burn unit

HONOLULU (AP) — A woman who escaped a wildfire that destroyed Hawaii community by running through a burning field has died after spending more than seven weeks in a hospital burn unit. Laurie Allen died Friday at Straub Medical Center in Honolulu, according to a gofundme page set up for her and her husband, Perry […]

11 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

...

DAY & NIGHT AIR CONDITIONING, HEATING AND PLUMBING

Importance of AC maintenance after Arizona’s excruciating heat wave

An air conditioning unit in Phoenix is vital to living a comfortable life inside, away from triple-digit heat.

...

DAY & NIGHT AIR CONDITIONING, HEATING AND PLUMBING

Here are the biggest tips to keep your AC bill low this summer

PHOENIX — In Arizona during the summer, having a working air conditioning unit is not just a pleasure, but a necessity. No one wants to walk from their sweltering car just to continue to be hot in their home. As the triple digits hit around the Valley and are here to stay, your AC bill […]

...

OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center

5 mental health myths you didn’t know were made up

Helping individuals understand mental health diagnoses like obsessive compulsive spectrum disorder or generalized anxiety disorder isn’t always an easy undertaking. After all, our society tends to spread misconceptions about mental health like wildfire. This is why being mindful about how we talk about mental health is so important. We can either perpetuate misinformation about already […]

House GOP seeks tighter voting rules in DC, which Democrats warn is model for national restrictions