Congresswoman Ramirez Statement on Trump’s Attack on American Elections

Washington, DC — Today, Congresswoman Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03), Co-chair of the Congressional Taskforce on Strengthening Democracy, released the following statement on Trump’s sweeping executive action to undermine elections and disenfranchise millions of Americans. The Executive Action requires documented proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections and demands that all ballots be received by Election Day. 

“Our elections are secure. Trump’s most recent Executive Order is an assault on our democracy. It is an unnecessary and unlawful executive overreach that disrupts how Americans vote, attempts to bring an independent agency under presidential control, and disenfranchises thousands of voters. A man with no integrity - who refused to accept the 2020 election results - has no credibility to comment on election integrity.   

Bottom line: no matter how secure our elections are, Trump and Republicans will still claim elections are rigged to suppress the votes of women, Black, Brown, veterans, Indigenous, and working-class Americans. Because for them, it's not about election integrity; it's about rigging the system to consolidate power and undermine the power of the people. If they succeed and only certain people vote and only certain votes are counted, America will no longer be able to claim free and fair elections and a healthy democracy. 

The Trump Administration is operating by the authoritarian playbook. History has shown us where their path - unchallenged - leads. We must be clear: Trump is attempting to end free and fair elections in our nation. We must be courageous, proceed with the moral clarity of those who came before us, like the late Congressman John R. Lewis, and stand against his actions.”

Background:

About 1 in 10 adult U.S. citizens don’t have ready access to documents that prove their citizenship, such as a birth certificate or passport.  Despite claims of mass voting by noncitizens, the available data has shown consistently that it is incredibly rare and rapidly identified. The American Immigration Council analyzed the Heritage data and only found 10 cases involving undocumented immigrants since the 1980s.