State Rep. Clarke Tucker, the Democratic opposing Republican U.S. Rep. French Hill criticizes Hill for opposing legislation to increase spending on election security measures.
The motion to add $380 million for state election security to a larger spending bill failed 182-232, with Hill among the party-line nays. Said
“Time and again, our current Congress has put party over country to the detriment of the United States and Arkansas,” Tucker said. “That’s why as a matter of national security, we must protect our democracy from all threats, especially the known and real threat of Russian interference, and ensure we have free and fair elections. But yesterday, we saw too many members of Congress lack the courage to put country first, and instead vote along party lines against adequate security to combat these foreign threats. We must demand our leaders in Congress be willing to put our country and the people they represent first, even against pressure from party bosses and special interests.”
Republicans dismissed the move as theatrics. Republican Rep. Jim Jordan said the only thing needed for election security is Voter ID (which does nothing about computerized hacking and which, studies have shown, addresses largely non-existent ID fraud while suppressing legitimate votes.)