Marjorie Taylor Greene claims ‘real’ voter suppression is her having to wait to go through metal detectors at Congress
The For the People Act – also known as HR1 – aims to make voting in federal elections easier
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Your support makes all the difference.Marjorie Taylor Greene opposed a resolution addressing voter suppression by claiming that Congressional members were suffering actual voter suppression because they had to walk through metal detectors and wait in lines to enter the chamber.
Ms Greene made her comments while opposing HR 1, the For the People Act, which aims to make voting in federal elections easier, stop congressional gerrymandering, overhaul federal campaign finance laws and strengthen government ethics rules.
"Mr Speaker I rise in opposition to HR 1. While we're talking about voter suppression and long lines, I'd like to point out that there is real voter suppression that happens right here in Congress," Ms Greene said. "Many members of Congress have to wait in long lines to enter the chamber, going through metal detectors, emptying our pockets, and being treated very disrespectfully."
Ms Greene described an experience that nearly all Americans have to endure any time they enter a state or federal building or attempt to board an airplane.
She went on to say that Americans having to wait in long lines to vote was not voter suppression – even though she had just claimed that House members waiting in long lines was voter suppression – and that it was simply part of the process.
"So that is real voter suppression and it's a shame that it happens right here on the House floor. Standing in line to vote is not voter suppression, it's just part of the voting process, just like people stand in line to buy groceries at the grocery store," she said.
Ms Greene's analogy is imperfect at best: Americans can grocery shop at any time, any day of the week, and can use online services to have their products sent to them at their homes. Voting occurs during a short period of time, and only some states allow for mail-in voting beyond casting absentee ballots.
Voters in some parts of the US waited in lines of 10 hours or more in order to cast a ballot. Because Election Day is not a federal holiday, it requires Americans to either take time off work or vote around their schedules.
To compound the issues, some parts of the US are serviced by a small number of voting stations, requiring voters to drive long distances – or secure some other form of transportation if they do not have access to a car – in order to cast their ballots.
Ms Greene's comments come as prominent Republicans – including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen Ted Cruz – back a pair of Arizona lawsuits being tried by the Supreme Court aiming to weaken Section II of the Voting Right's Act.
Section II outlaws any attempt to change voting laws based on an individual's race or colour.
If the Supreme Court strikes that section down, it would prevent key protections against voting laws that make it harder for people of colour to vote.
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