National: Democrats focus on election security, voting rights | McClatchy
Democratic leaders are launching a more aggressive push this month that could widen their probe of possible voter suppression into states other than those now under scrutiny, seeking to make it particularly less difficult for minority voters, who tend to vote Democratic, to go to the polls. House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings told McClatchy he wants to “make sure we spend significant effort and time, perhaps even looking at even more states and seeing what they’re doing and shining a light on what they may be doing illegally or improperly to stop or hinder people from voting and having those votes counted.” Cummings was already planning to look at possible voter suppression in North Carolina, Georgia, Texas and Kansas. The Maryland Democrat did not name additional states. At the same time, congressional Democrats are stepping up pressure on Republicans to address election security lapses to prevent a repeat of Russian meddling in the 2016 election. The Russian interference, combined with allegations of voter suppression, erode confidence in the electoral system, Democrats argue, and if both are not addressed, voters could be discouraged from participating in the 2020 election. “This is my worry, that we have done very little now to correct the threat of Russian interference with our electoral system,” Cummings said, “which means that it might be that the only way this whole situation that we’re in is corrected is through the ballot, with people voting.”