Securing America's Federal Elections Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. AGUILAR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

In our democracy, we should actively be seeking ways to involve more people rather than shutting them out of the process. Some States have done this by making voting accessible for homebound voters and others who have trouble physically getting to the polls and allowing an absentee voter to designate anyone of their choosing to drop off a marked ballot. This policy allows for greater participation in elections because some homebound voters have no family or individuals to delegate that role to. They should not be disenfranchised by our laws.

Ballot drop-off laws are, in and of themselves, perfectly appropriate election administration laws. If your aunt or uncle is a physician of an H1B visa holder, if you are working a double shift and you hand your ballot to someone who is a Dreamer, if you are married to an individual with TPS status, this would require you to report that individual to the Federal Government.

The House Administration Committee is already reviewing the foreign influence on American elections as the chairwoman mentioned, and we welcome the minority working with us in this regard. We know, from a Washington Post story published earlier this year, in which Members here in this Chamber are quoted as developing a strategy to engage in that practice themselves.

In fact, our colleagues on the other side of the aisle were quoted as being laser focused on ballot collection in the 2020 elections. So they will have to forgive me if I don't buy into the argument they are making today that their favorite examples of potential problems with the system are actions of a political operative on behalf of a Republican candidate who illegally changed and threw away ballots.

This is a suppression tactic. It is the height of hypocrisy that our Republican colleagues would be creating a new Federal standard after this entire debate they had been railing against the same. They will forgive us if we feel that that is a little disingenuous.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to defeat this motion.

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