HYDE-SMITH VOTES TO BLOCK DEMS’ FOURTH TRY AT ELECTION PROCESS TAKEOVER
Latest Bill Would Allow Biden Administration to Effectively Eliminate Voter ID & Other Commonsense Election Laws
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) today voted against yet another attempt by Senate Democrats to authorize a federal takeover of the nation’s electoral process.
Hyde-Smith voted against proceeding to S.4, partisan legislation to amend the Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965 in a manner that would give the U.S. Department of Justice vast power over how Mississippi and every other state conducts their elections.
“This bill is cut from the same cloth as the Democrats’ three previous attempts to empower the federal government to completely control our election system,” Hyde-Smith said. “The powers embodied in this bill would allow the Biden administration to effectively eliminate voter ID and other commonsense state laws to improve the integrity of our elections and prevent voter fraud.”
“I fully support ensuring voting rights are respected for all Americans. At the same time, I oppose this bill because federalizing our election system is not the way to accomplish that goal,” she said.
Democrats failed to gain sufficient votes to begin debate on S.4, partisan legislation that seeks to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court 2013 ruling in Shelby County v. Holder. In that ruling, the Court struck down as unconstitutional some outdated VRA preclearance requirements from the mid-1960s.
Hyde-Smith rejected three previous Democrat election reform attempts embodied in S.1, S.2093, and S.2747. At an Oct. 26 Senate Rules Committee hearing, Hyde-Smith said a true bipartisan approach to improving elections is required to gain “overwhelming support” for reforms.
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