WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Democrats are fighting to make the election process easier, but Republicans think it causes more problems than it fixes.
“This is one of the most despicable things I have seen in all my years,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said.
Schumer blasted Republicans opposition to legislation expanding Americans’ voting access.
“Instead of doing what you should be doing when you lose an election in a democracy, attempting to win over those voters in the next election, Republicans instead are trying to disenfranchise those voters. Shame on them,” Schumer said.
The “For The People Act’ would also reduce the influence of big money in politics and implement anti-corruption measures.
“This is nowhere near ready for primetime. It’s an invitation into total chaos,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said.
McConnell says it is nothing more than a messaging bill from Democrats and would be a nightmare for the election process.
“This is clearly an effort by one party to rewrite the rules of our political system,” McConnell said.
Republicans say this bill stomps on states’ rights and violates the Constitution.
“Federalizing elections has never been done before and for good reason. Senators, please leave election administration up to the states,” West Virginia Secretary of State Andrew “Mac” Warner said.
But Democrats say changes need to be made to not just protect future elections, but also the American people.
“The best solution to abolishing the undemocratic trinity of issues plaguing our democracy, gerrymandering, voter suppression, dark money, is to get rid of all of them at once,” Former U.S Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. said.