End Citizens United // Let America Vote Action Fund Legislative Affairs Director Rushad Thomas issued the following statement ahead of the House Administration Committee’s markup today of the anti-voter, pro-dark money American Confidence in Elections (ACE) Act:
“The House Republicans’ anti-voter, pro-dark money ACE Act is a wolf in sheep’s clothing that will only further erode Americans’ trust in our democracy. The ACE Act will not restore confidence in elections but will instead disenfranchise millions of Americans and open the floodgates to even more out-of-control spending by billionaires and corporations in our elections. House Republicans are sending a clear message that they stand with corporations and dark money special interests, not the American people—and we won’t let voters forget.”
Earlier this week, the Washington Post Editorial Board wrote that the ACE Act is a, “partisan power grab masquerading as a defense of election integrity … a gift to big donors wrapped up to look like a protection of free speech. … Taken together, all of this reveals that the true purpose of GOP legislative efforts to control voting is more about giving themselves a political edge than actually safeguarding elections.”
BREAKING DOWN THE ANTI-VOTER, PRO-DARK MONEY ACE ACT:
Attacks the Freedom to Vote
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Restricts the ability of voters to cast a ballot by mail and bans voters from seeking assistance from other people when they return their ballot.
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Limits the options for voters to register to vote and prohibits federal agencies from engaging in voter registration activities.
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Overrides popular, effective, locally supported pro-voter policies in Washington, DC, including erecting barriers for voters to register, vote in person or by mail, or have their vote counted, as well as prohibiting same day registration policies that help ensure voter rolls are accurate and up to date.
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Targets voting restrictions to disproportionately impact voters of color, urban areas, and voters with disabilities.
Burdens Election Workers
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Restricts funding to election administrators to maintain accurate and updated voter lists, modernize election systems, and administer safe, transparent, accessible elections.
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Empowers partisan poll watchers with unfettered access, allowing them to threaten and intimidate voters as well as local election administrators and poll workers, who are already facing unprecedented harassment.
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Allows partisan politicians to remove non-partisan election officials based on frivolous allegations.
More Money and Less Transparency in Election
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Allows increased contribution limits and empowers extremist dark money special interest groups that pollute our politics with hundreds of millions of dollars and drown out the voices of regular people.
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Eliminates transparency requirements designed to prevent corruption and to allow Americans to learn who is trying to influence their vote and their representatives.
Allows Extreme Gerrymandering
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Protects extreme gerrymandering, which dilutes the power of certain voters – especially voters of color – and allows politicians to choose their voters rather than voters choosing their representatives.
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