On Wednesday, the House held a hearing about the American Confidence in Elections Act… and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., rant on racism quickly went viral.
Ocasio-Cortez said that House Republicans want to get rid of mail-in ballots in order to stop Black people from voting… even though the ACE Act supports mail-in ballots.
“We have heard from experts that there is no valid reason to be eliminating same-day registration, mail-in ballots. If there is no valid reason, I think it stands to conclude that the only real reason we see this push is political. It’s a political reason,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
“In one of the Blackest cities in America, to have — and to even have the idea of proposing the federal government strip voting rights in one of the Blackest cities in this country that has a history of enslavement, a history of freedpeople seeking refuge here and then being punished but disenfranchisement? This cuts to the core of not just the present moment, but also American history.”
Ocasio-Cortez claimed Republicans want to “control” Black people in order to win elections.
“I think what’s striking about this is how afraid the other side of the aisle is, of free and fair elections,” Ocasio-Cortez continued.
“Today, Republicans are so afraid of democracy that they want to disenfranchise predominantly Black voters who have been disenfranchised for as far back as when Black people were enslaved in the United States of America. This has nothing to do with election integrity. This is about racial control.”
Ocasio-Cortez failed to cite any polling from Black voters on this issue. She also ignored the voting habits of newly enfranchised groups like felons in Virginia, a surprising number of whom are voting Republican.
She did, however, cite one racist speech from a 19th-century slave owner.
Take a look at Ocasio-Cortez’s rant, which she tweeted herself —
“Republicans are so afraid of democracy that they want to disenfranchise predominantly Black voters who have been disenfranchised for as far back as when Black people were enslaved in the USA. This has nothing to do with election integrity. This is about racial control.” pic.twitter.com/RkEfjOiPyj
— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@RepAOC) June 7, 2023
Ocasio-Cortez not only accused her political opponents of racism, but she also lied about the contents of this bill.
The bill does not eliminate mail-in ballots. How else would military servicemembers vote?
Rather, the bill simply introduces new requirements for mail-in ballots. For example, the bill requires D.C. to send absentee ballots only to voters requesting absentee ballots. In other words, it prohibits D.C. from simply mailing a ballot to everyone.
The bill also requires D.C. to notify every voter with a faulty signature on its ballot. After that, it allows D.C. voters 48 hours to “cure” their ballots.
It even allows D.C. to set up 24-hour dropboxes, as long as D.C. provides “security of any such drop box through 24-hour remote or electronic surveillance.”
The bill prohibits same-day registration, but it still gives voters 30 days to register. Even New York, Ocasio-Cortez’s home state, requires at least 10 days.
In the end, Ocasio-Cortez is hardly fooling anyone. The bill is available online in full.
Take a look at Ocasio-Cortez’s full outburst —
The Horn editorial team