Last week, U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, joined other lawmakers in introducing the bipartisan Let America Vote Act.
She was joined in offering the legislation by Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pennsylvania, Jared Golden, D-Maine, and Andrew Garbarino, R-New York.
According to a news release, the legislation addresses two key principles in the fight for election reform and integrity.
First, it would protect the right of a U.S. citizen to vote in any taxpayer-funded election for public office. The legislation would require states to allow unaffiliated voters to vote in primary elections for federal office. Federal funds would be withheld if a state does not permit access to unaffiliated voters to vote in primary elections for state and local offices. The legislation would also protect the information and independence of unaffiliated voters by restricting the use of their voter data.
Second, it would require that non-citizens are not permitted or granted the right to vote in any taxpayer-funded election for public office held in the United States. Federal funds would be withheld if a state permits non-citizens to vote in elections for state and local offices.
“In Southwest Washington, we value our independence, know that our beliefs don’t always fit neatly into one box, and recognize there’s not a political party that cares about our community like we do,” Gluesenkamp Perez stated in the release. “Good ideas come from both sides of the aisle, and they originate on the ground in our communities, so Americans shouldn’t be denied the right to vote for the candidate of their choosing because they aren’t affiliated with a national political party. A healthy, functioning democracy also depends on free, fair and secure elections. We need to uphold the constitutional ideal that decisions made for our country are made by citizens of our country — and our bipartisan legislation will protect the integrity of Americans’ choices at the ballot box.”
Rye Barcott, co-founder and CEO of With Honor Action, said the “opportunity to vote is a sacred right of all American citizens.”
“Regrettably, independent Americans, who by many measures make up more than 40% of the population, are disenfranchised in many state primaries,” Barcott said. “This is especially true today due to gerrymandering of safe electoral districts by self-interested politicians. This bill ensures these tens of millions of Americans are able to vote in primaries and brings more competition to our elections. This is great for democracy irrespective of one’s political party. With Honor Action fully endorses it and applauds Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, Co-Chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus and former FBI agent, and Rep. Jared Golden, a U.S. Marine veteran and former Co-Chair of the For Country Caucus, for leading this Act. Let’s get it passed.”
