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Yesterday, McConnell introduced a bill cynically designed to kill efforts to increase stimulus checks to Americans by attaching two poison pills unrelated to the pandemic. One has received less attention but is very dangerous: a "voter fraud" commission. https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/29/politics/mcconnell-poison-pill-attached-to-bill/index.html
This is an effort (1) to prolong Trump's illegitimate challenges to the election result by stoking voter fraud lies and fueling conspiracy theories, and (2) to justify anti-democratic measures to restrict access to voting.
Read the @BrennanCenter's statement reacting to this illegitimate effort here: https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/brennan-center-statement-against-election-fraud-commission-senate
It goes without saying that no commission is needed to study voter fraud--almost 60 courts have already rejected Trump's claims, along with virtually every election official and election security expert in the country https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/its-official-election-was-secure
And Trump already created a commission to investigate widespread voter fraud--which disbanded in scandal after finding no such fraud https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/disbanded-trumps-voter-fraud-commission
To underscore the point that this is more of the same, for the mission of his proposed commission, McConnell's bill borrows language from the Executive Order establishing Trump's ill-fated fraud commission. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/presidential-executive-order-establishment-presidential-advisory-commission-election-integrity/
And to ensure that he controls the outcome of the Commission, McConnell literally writes himself into the bill, giving sole authority to appoint Republican members to "the leader of the Republican caucus in the Senate."
The danger is clear: not only could this unjustifiably undermine the legitimacy of the incoming Administration and of American elections in general, but it will likely also be used to justify efforts to legislate restrictions on voting access that McConnell has long supported.
This should not distract from passing the bills that we need to fix our democracy: #HR1 and #VRAA (the John Lewis Voting Rights Act). The solutions in there are tried and true, and delay tactics should not be tolerate. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/policy-solutions/case-hr1
