00:00Thank you very much. I am so grateful to be here today at the Judiciary Committee Spotlight Hearing on Protecting
00:08American Democracy and Defending the Right to Vote.
00:11I want to first begin by thanking my dear friend and my classmate, the ranking member, Ms. Scanlon, as well
00:18as Mr. Byer, my friend from Virginia.
00:20And I understand we'll soon be joined by ranking member of the whole committee, Mr. Raskin.
00:27And I'm grateful to be with you. I was with Representative Scanlon in her district last week to discuss this
00:34important topic.
00:34And that hearing was, I thought, extremely productive and I remain so appreciative of you hosting us in the district
00:42and, of course, organizing this important conversation this afternoon.
00:47And I also want to acknowledge House Democrat Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
00:52Under Leader Jeffries' leadership, our unified caucus has provided an indispensable check on this administration.
01:01And when we call him Speaker Jeffries in just a few months, I always like to knock on wood as
01:08I say that, there will be so much more to do.
01:11So today's conversation is vitally important, this spotlight examining the security of our elections, the threats they face, and the
01:21weapons we as members of the House have to fight back.
01:25It's never been more urgent in this moment as I go around and tell people a little bit about my
01:32travels.
01:32I've been to Pennsylvania, to Missouri, to Texas, to California, to Maryland, all around this country.
01:43You know, I say it's kind of extraordinary that we have to do everything that we have to do.
01:49It's a little surreal even that we're holding shadow and spotlight hearings to talk about this.
01:54I always took it as an article of faith.
01:56But even growing up in this great democracy, I couldn't imagine a time when we would need to do it,
02:02but we need to do it.
02:03And it's critical.
02:04And the health of this democracy, the security of our elections, the strength of public trust in government, each of
02:10those are critical components.
02:12And I love the way my colleague and friend talked about our superpower.
02:17It's what keeps the 250-year American experiment alive, superpower of voting.
02:23And there's nothing more urgent, I think, in this moment than protecting that superpower and protecting American democracy.
02:31Our overarching objectives are straightforward.
02:34Every eligible American must have a meaningful opportunity to cast a ballot.
02:39Those ballots must be counted fairly and accurately.
02:43And then finally, a House.
02:45We're all concerned about the House.
02:47But on January 3rd, 2027, when we gather, that House must reflect the will of the American people as expressed
02:56in their votes up to and including November 3rd.
03:00So I would just note, too, when I go around, people are expressing their anxiety.
03:04I understand it.
03:05But they should know we're winning.
03:07Every time the Trump administration has tried to interfere with the integrity of midterm elections, they have failed.
03:13They have lost.
03:14In the courts, states are 23-0 against the Department of Justice's illegal attempts to force states to turn over
03:23their voter rolls.
03:2423-0.
03:25That should give someone confidence in the court system.
03:28The Postal Service proposed a final rule attempting to disenfranchise millions of Americans at the request of the president in
03:37accordance with his illegal executive order.
03:40The rule was immediately blocked in federal court.
03:44And even this Supreme Court recognized how offensively legal the president's order was.
03:51And in Congress, despite House Republicans' multiple attempts to pass any number of versions of the SAVE Act, they have
03:59failed to enact the provisions into law.
04:00So we should be clear-eyed about the threats that we currently and will face in the coming weeks.
04:08I don't think there's any question that the president, to his credit, says the quiet part out loud.
04:12And it's subverting the will of the American people.
04:14It's clearly something he wants to do.
04:17He and his allies want to take over the election.
04:19He has said as much.
04:20And sadly, we find ourselves in a moment when democracy's defenses are weakened.
04:25We used to think, all of us, as the Department of Justice being a bulwark, we'd think about the FBI
04:32as being defenders of the public interest, the Department of Homeland Security.
04:38But they are doing their duty to their audience of one, to the president, and disregarding, and not only disregarding,
04:46acting as aggressors when it comes to American democracy in this election.
04:51So despite that, and look, the president and this administration has defunded and gutted the cybersecurity and infrastructure security agency,
04:59CISA, and all of its support for election administrators.
05:02Kind of the incongruity of the president going on national television talking about cyber threats to this democracy after he
05:10has dismantled that agency which was intended to defend American democracy against attacks in the cyberspace.
05:19So people close to the president have publicly mused about sending armed federal agents to the polls in a direct
05:28violation of federal law.
05:29It is a crime to enter into a polling place armed, whether you're military or civilian.
05:34Most people would know that the president apparently does not.
05:37So in the face of all this, I give the privilege of serving as the ranking Democrat, as Ms. Scanlon
05:43said of the Committee of House Administration, which has jurisdiction over federal elections.
05:47We've undertaken this assessment of how House Democrats and pro-democracy allies, and there are many of them, and I
05:54want to thank them publicly for all the work they're doing.
05:58They have stood up, and they're pushing back.
06:00Our planned targeted responses include litigation, effective community organization, mobilization, communication, and promoting early voting.
06:08So in partnership with leaders like the panelists we have today, and so grateful to them for coming and sharing
06:15their wisdom,
06:17failure is quite simply not an option, or as Susan B. Anthony from Rochester, New York, would say, failure is
06:24impossible.
06:25Frederick Douglass was buried in Rochester and wrote the North Star.
06:28I always like to get this into my friends.
06:31Both.
06:32So if you come from Rochester, New York, voting and suffrage is in your DNA.
06:36So we will not allow the corruption of this administration, the culture which is pervading this administration, and has real
06:44costs.
06:45Americans are struggling to afford things because of that corruption.
06:48The president wastes millions on vanity projects.
06:52It's kind of hard to imagine the things he focuses on with all the challenges we have.
06:57He sends taxpayer money to billionaire donors and simultaneously cutting their taxes.
07:01Because protecting our democracy doesn't end with protecting our elections, we must restore American trust in government.
07:09So it's a large project.
07:10I'm looking forward to doing this with all of my friends here seated at this table.
07:15The work is ongoing.
07:16It is iterative.
07:18There's still a long road ahead.
07:19But I remain confident every single day that through this work we'll be more prepared than ever in the coming
07:25weeks.
07:25Because the election is here.
07:26It's important to remember, thousands of Americans have already voted, and millions of ballots have already been sent out.
07:33So we're in the middle of this.
07:34It's not just November 3rd.
07:35It's leading up to.
07:37So people are voting.
07:38We're doing great work.
07:39All of our panelists and the organizations have been just so incredibly, I'm incredibly grateful for the amazing work they're
07:47doing.
07:47Again, I want to thank Ms. Scanlon, Mr. Raskin, my colleagues, Mr. Byer, Mr. Ivey, to the panelists who are
07:54here.
07:54Let's keep up the fight.
07:55And with that, Madam Chair, Madam Ranking Member, can I call you Chair?
07:59I'm going to call you Chair soon.
08:01With that, I yield back.
