Republicans & Democrats Trade Barbs Over Proposed Election Law Changes

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State and Congressional elected officials fired criticism against each other concerning proposed changes in federal and state election laws.

State Senator Bob Peterson, a Fayette County Republican who is also seeking the 15th District Congressional seat, has co-sponsored an Ohio resolution aimed at blocking U.S. House Resolution #1.

Peterson stated in a press release Wednesday afternoon that Democrats are attempting- “an unconstitutional attempt to federalize state elections.” He continued by saying he is- “Urging the United States Congress to reject a proposed partisan power-grab that would remove state authority over elections and give it to federal bureaucrats.”

Peterson continued with a list of what he called dangers that would result in passage of U.S. House Resolution 1:

• legalize the practice of ballot harvesting, potentially creating opportunities for voter suppression and fraud,
• allow voters to register and vote on the day of an election without adequate time to ensure their eligibility,
• use tax dollars to fund political campaigns,
• ban efforts to require voter identification, and 
• prohibit local officials from verifying voter rolls and overseeing secure elections.

“This is a brazen attempt by the radical left to destroy the safeguards that protect our voting process,” said Peterson. “Nancy Pelosi and other extremists know they can’t build a lasting majority on credible candidates and sound public policy, so their solution is to game the system and make it easier to cheat. This is exactly why I’m running for Congress – to put an end to federal takeovers of our constitutional freedoms.”

Ohio U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown returned criticism of Ohio Republican lawmakers Wednesday, claiming their proposed changes to state voting laws are a “knee-jerk reaction” to Donald Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election.

Brown told reporters Wednesday morning, that Republican legislators are responding to an “abject lie” created by the former President Donald Trump in an effort to limit voting access. 

“They should be ashamed of themselves,” Brown said. “It’s why Republicans are going to start losing more elections in Ohio because the voters know that they’re playing to that big lie from an angry president that cares more about dividing people than he does unifying our country.”

Brown joined Democratic Senate colleagues Tuesday in backing legislation they say would serve as a buffer against voting restrictions passed in other states.

With the U.S. Senate at 50-50, it still requires 60 votes to override a filibuster from Republicans, in order for the matter to be open for floor debate. The measure did not gain any support from the 50 U.S. Senate Republicans.

Ohio U.S. Senator Rob Portman said- “I’m proud of the way we conduct our elections in Ohio, in part because we’ve got high turnout. In fact, we had record turnout last year. And that’s great. And I don’t want to leave it up to federal employees here in Washington, D.C. to determine how our system should work in Ohio, which is what this legislation would do.”