Shortly after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Wednesday held a press conference in support of companion legislation to H.R. 1, which has been criticized as the “Democrat Politician Protection Act,” Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) followed suit.
Officially dubbed the “For The People Act,” the legislation is being spearheaded by a group of Democrats that includes Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and presidential candidates in the Senate and is driven by the narrative recently peddled by Jones that Republicans “do not want African-Americans and other minorities to vote.”
Despite Jones’ claims on “voter suppression” being rebutted with facts by Secretary of State John Merrill, Jones tweeted Wednesday, “It’s time to put our democracy back where it belongs: in the hands of the American people. The #ForThePeople Act will help expand access to the ballot box & restore ethics and integrity to our political system.”
This came just minutes after Schumer, in a Capitol Hill press conference, claimed that the right to vote is “at risk.”
“People of malign influence have figured out ways around the fundamental core principle of this democracy,” Schumer said. “Our soldiers died for this since the Revolution of 1776. People have marched for this and gotten beaten up and brutalized and killed. And now insidiously, these evil forces… are gaining ground.”
Seventy-two House Democrats last year voted against a resolution opposing illegal aliens voting in American elections, while Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-7) voted “present” along with 68 of her cohorts.
The resolution recognized “that allowing illegal immigrants the right to vote devalues the franchise and diminishes the voting power of United States citizens.”
Yet on Wednesday, Schumer asserted, “What we are doing is so American – it’s restoring that democracy.”
“I just find it stomach curdling what people will do to deprive minorities of voting,” he added. “And they explicitly say it.”
The “For The People Act” also purports to reform campaign finance laws in a way that would benefit “the average American.”
It’s time to put our democracy back where it belongs: in the hands of the American people. The #ForThePeople Act will help expand access to the ballot box & restore ethics and integrity to our political system. pic.twitter.com/EoTKd482SU
— Doug Jones (@SenDougJones) March 27, 2019
Jones’ support comes in the wake of recent revelations that he raised more money from overseas than Alabama last quarter and that he has been running digital ads soliciting contributions from every state besides his own. It also comes the day after Jones came under renewed criticism that he defers to Schumer in how he votes.
An analysis Wednesday by Yellowhammer News of Jones’ total contributions since 2017 showed that he has only raised 23 percent of his campaign funds from inside the state of Alabama. A combined 45 percent of his total contributions came from California, New York and Washington, D.C. Jones has raised more from foreign countries than he has from 30 individual states.
Additionally, Jones has a registered joint fundraising committee attached to his name, entitled “Victory 2017.” This committee has raised 51 percent of its total funds from New York alone.
Sean Ross is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
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