Republicans in the U.S. Senate blocked three bills by Democrats this week that would have increased election security amid the specter of foreign interference in the 2020 election, according to reports.
The Democratic legislation would have required campaigns to alert the FBI and Federal Election Commission about offers of foreign assistance and also called for voting machines to be disconnected from the internet.
But consent for the proposals was shot down, along with legislation to provide more election funding, after Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee opposed requests put forth by three Democratic senators, according to The Hill.
The Warner bill, which would require campaigns to report offers of foreign assistance, was blocked by Marsha Blackburn. She argues it would take power away from local officials. She calls the Warner bill a “disastrous vision.”
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) February 11, 2020
Blackburn defended her actions on Twitter.
Securing our elections has bipartisan consensus. But why should we make the electoral process more vulnerable to attack by redirecting resources to support groups like the Iowa Democratic Party? pic.twitter.com/NBOyoTEzyw
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) February 11, 2020
Our defense bill included *9* provisions to bolster cyber capabilities. Congress has allocated nearly $1 billion in election security since 2018. If this was anything more than a stunt, the Democrats would have followed the rules.
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) February 11, 2020
Under Senate rules, any senator can ask for unanimous consent to pass a bill, but only one senator is required to object and block the requests.
Democratic Sens. Mark Warner of Virginia, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Ron Wyden of Oregon tried to clear the election security bills Tuesday, The Hill reported.
Credit: J. Scott Applewhite
Credit: J. Scott Applewhite
After objecting, Blackburn accused Democrats of only trying to create talking points for the campaign trail.
“They are attempting to bypass this body’s Rules Committee on behalf of various bills that will seize control over elections from the states and take it from the states and where do they want to put it? They want it to rest in the hands of Washington, D.C., bureaucrats,” she said.
Now that Iowa and New Hampshire are in the bag, voting season is in full swing with ballots to be cast next in Nevada and South Carolina.
Super Tuesday is also right around the corner, when more than one-third of America’s voting population in 14 states and American Samoa is expected to vote March 3. Georgia’s primary is March 24.
The Securing America's Federal Elections, or SAFE, Act — the third bill Democrats tried to clear — authorizes more funding for the Election Assistance Commission and includes language that would ban voting machines from being connected to the internet and being produced in foreign countries, The Hill reported.
Wyden commented about the matter Tuesday, saying not having a nationwide ban on connecting voting machines to the internet was like “stashing our ballots in the Kremlin.”
We are just 266 days away from the 2020 election. It’s time for Mitch McConnell to stop playing political games and bring the #SAFEAct to the floor of the Senate for a vote so that we can secure our elections once and for all. https://t.co/DY6MfG9Mji
— Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) February 11, 2020
There were even more voices on Twitter sounding off about the matter.
I took to the Senate floor today with @MarkWarner, @SenBlumenthal, and @RonWyden to demand we pass commonsense bills to protect our 2020 elections.
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) February 11, 2020
But once again, Senate Republicans—afraid of the wrath of President Trump and Senator McConnell—blocked our efforts. pic.twitter.com/MI4i23s2yo
Why did Mitch McConnell and the Senate Republicans block 3 election security bills yesterday? Because they are hoping to get help from their foreign friends? Democracy is dying right before our eyes.https://t.co/FnNZc2qE22
— Tom Steyer (@TomSteyer) February 13, 2020
Senate Republicans have blocked three critical election security bills. Again.
— Adam Schiff (@AdamSchiff) February 13, 2020
That make voting machines harder to hack.
And require illegal foreign interference to be reported to authorities.
All blocked.
Americans want to know: why won’t the GOP protect our elections?