WASHINGTON – Oregon Senator Ron Wyden and Rep. Earl Blumenauer on Thursday reintroduced their bill to expand Oregon-style vote-by-mail nationwide and knock down the mounting obstacles that voters across the country are facing, just to cast their ballots.
The House of Representatives included a portion of the Wyden-Blumenauer bill in House Resolution 1, a package of pro-democratic reforms released Thursday.
“The House is doing the right thing by recognizing the value of vote-by-mail and the Senate should follow its lead. Last November, once again, voters across the nation faced unacceptable barriers just to have their ballots counted,” Wyden said. “This administration and special interests want to make voting harder so they can advance an anti-democratic agenda that rewards the powerful and hurts regular Americans. Our bill sweeps away artificial roadblocks to voting and makes it easier for everyone to have their voice heard in Washington, D.C.”
“Our first priority should be to ensure our democracy is available to everyone, which is why this is my first bill of the new Congress. Our legislation removes barriers to voting and promotes Oregon’s highly successful automatic voter registration and vote-by-mail systems,” said Rep. Blumenauer. “Access to the ballot has been under threat across America for too long. I am proud that the success of the Oregon model is now being recognized federally by paving the way for all Americans to vote by mail.”