Source: United States Senator for Pennsylvania Pat Toomey
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Pat Toomey released the following statement opposing a change in Senate rules that would enable passage of Democrats’ federal election takeover on a party-line vote rather than the normal 60-vote threshold.
“Democrats’ dishonest accusations about voter suppression in no way justify the federal takeover of America’s elections system nor the elimination of the filibuster—the central mechanism for encouraging deliberation and bipartisanship in the Senate.
“Voter suppression based on race is illegal, as it should be. In fact, over the last several elections, minority turnout and representation have steadily increased, and many of the same state laws that Democrats demonize actually expanded voter access beyond that of many Democrat-controlled states.
“This brazen attempt to upend over 200 years of rules that encourage bipartisanship clearly is not about voting rights. The proposed federal election takeover consists of longstanding Democrat priorities that were introduced long before the feigned outrage of this past year, including the public financing of political campaigns and the suppression of speech in ways even the ACLU opposes.
“This effort is about making elections processes more favorable to Democrats and enabling the passage of President Biden’s stalled agenda. Thankfully, due to the foresight of Republicans and the courage of two of my Democratic colleagues, this misguided effort failed.”