WASHINGTON – Today in the Senate Judiciary Committee, U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) discussed voting rights and the misleading rhetoric surrounding state voting laws like the one passed in Georgia. Excerpts of Sen. Cornyn’s remarks are below, and video can be found here.
“Unfortunately, rather than the usual oversight, and fact-finding, and legislative process, it looks like today’s hearing is really just performance art in order to enhance a false narrative about how far we’ve come in this country, thank goodness, when it comes to minority voting rights, participation.”
“The right to cast a ballot, of course, is the cornerstone of our democracy. I believe our standard should be that we should make it easier to vote legally in America but also, at the same time, make it harder to vote illegally.”
“I hope I can speak on behalf of everyone in this room when I say we need more Americans to participate in our democracy, not fewer. I’m encouraged by this trend of more people voting, and hope it continues.”
“I agree, we should have this hearing and we should look at appropriate bipartisan solutions to improve voter access, but using charged rhetoric to describe aspects of state voting laws, like the one in Georgia, is misleading. It’s not constructive, and it undermines public trust in Congress and in our election system.”
“The Georgia law comports with the existing laws of many Democrat-run states and also reflects the safeguards supported by the bipartisan Carter-Baker Commission. This is not to say that there’s not more work to be done, but it is important that we temper the charged rhetoric and understand the specifics that we’re actually talking about rather than jumping headfirst into this debate across the country in a rush to judgment.”
“Voter IDs are currently needed to board an airplane, to enter a federal building like this one, to operate a motor vehicle, to cash a check, to buy alcohol, and pick up ‘will call’ tickets at the Major League Baseball games.”
“I support efforts to expand voter access, but these efforts cannot interfere with the integrity of our elections. Today’s hearing is an excellent opportunity to discuss that and expanding access to the ballot box for all eligible voters.”