Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee Denounces Attempts to Stifle the Will of the People In Wisconsin and Michigan and attempts to Steal Ballots in North Carolina
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Robin K. Chand
December 6, 2018 202-225-3816
Press Statement
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee Denounces Attempts to Stifle the Will of the People In Wisconsin and Michigan and attempts to Steal Ballots in North Carolina
Jackson Lee: "All told, together with voter suppression tactics, and politically and racially gerrymandered legislative districts, this represents yet another anti-democratic tactic employed by the GOP in an attempt cling on to power, despite the fact that their policies were just rejected at the ballot box. I encourage all fair-minded individuals and entities across the land to speak out against this effort and protect our democratic form of government."
WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations, and senior member of the House Committees on Judiciary, Homeland Security, and Budget, released this statement following the discovery that absentee ballots in North Carolina's Ninth Congressional District were stolen, and GOP-controlled state legislatures in Wisconsin and Michigan are acting to subvert the will of voters by using lame duck sessions to strip powers of incoming Democratic governors:
"Last month, fueled by record turnout for a Midterm election, and widespread disapproval of the President, the Republican party and their policies, voters went to the polls and delivered resounding victories to Democrats. Democrats won control of the House of Representatives, wrestled control of seven Governors' offices, and won nearly 400 state legislative districts. Across the nation, House Democratic candidates won a resounding 54% of the vote and a victory margin of 8.4 million votes—the largest in history.
The period following the election has been marked by ugly power grabs, and other issues related to the election. North Carolina has been especially problematic. A state whose racial gerrymandering laws were so onerous the law was considered to disenfranchise certain voters with almost surgical precision, North Carolina once more finds its self at the fore of questionable, undemocratic conduct. This is most apparent in the Ninth Congressional District of North Carolina, where it has been revealed that wholesale theft of absentee ballots occurred, calling into question the final tally. I call upon state officials in North Carolina to refrain from certifying the results from this race until an investigation has occurred, and in the event of certification does occur, I urge the House of Representatives not to seat the certified Republican winner until the matter is fully investigated and resolved.
"Yet, this is not the only instance of GOP efforts to frustrate the popular will. In Michigan and Wisconsin, GOP lawmakers are using their lame duck sessions to radically constrict the powers of the incoming governor. In both cases an incoming Democrat is replacing an outgoing Republican. The practical effect of this move is constricting the powers of those duly elected to serve the people.
"It is especially odious that this is happening after an election, and after the will of the people has been gauged, and after they have chosen a different course. All told, together with voter suppression tactics, and politically and racially gerrymandered legislative districts, this represents yet another anti-democratic tactic employed by the GOP in an attempt cling on to power, despite the fact that their policies were just rejected at the ballot box. I encourage all fair-minded individuals and entities across the land to speak out against this effort and protect our democratic form of government."
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee is a Democrat from Texas's 18th Congressional District. She is a senior member of the House Committees on Judiciary and Homeland Security and is a Ranking Member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations.