McConnell’s Sham Election Commission Addition to Pandemic Relief Is Disgraceful

Covid-19, Economic Justice News, Voting Rights News 12.30,20

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Shin Inouye, [email protected], 202.869.0398

WASHINGTON – LaShawn Warren, executive vice president of government affairs at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement on Senate Majority Leader McConnell’s legislation that ties $2,000 stimulus payments to the creation of a sham commission to study so-called election fraud:

“In 2017, President Trump created the sham Pence-Kobach election ‘integrity’ commission, which was thoroughly discredited and eventually disbanded. Leader McConnell is now tying the necessary COVID-19 relief to the creation of yet another sham commission to study the phantom problem of voter fraud. It is an insult to our democracy and to the pain and suffering faced by far too many.

“Let us be clear: despite claims from President Trump and radical conspiracy theorists, there is no widespread voter fraud – but there are well-documented efforts to prevent Black and brown communities from voting that have been met with silence from McConnell and the administration. If McConnell is serious about protecting our elections and democracy, he would support legislation to expand access to the ballot box and prevent voter suppression – including the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. But McConnell is after one thing: solidifying his power.

“Millions are suffering and now is not the time for partisan games. This legislation is morally wrong, is illustrative of misplaced priorities, and represents a callous disregard for the lives of people in this country. The Senate must follow the House and pass a clean pandemic relief bill.”

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 220 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.