Schumer: Vote by Mail ‘Will Be a Very Important Part’ of Next Coronavirus Bill

On Friday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “All In,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) stated that vote by mail provisions “will be a very important part of the legislation that we’re going to put forward, and we are going to fight like the devil for it.”

Host Chris Hayes asked, “[T]he last CARES Act…the big one, it had money for mail-in voting, but there’s no sort of federal requirement that states prepare themselves. It’s a very spotty system. Is that a must-have for Democrats? Is that something that is a kind of like a brightline for Democrats as a priority, to make sure we can have a safe and healthy election?”

Schumer responded, “It is really important. I don’t underestimate the desire of Republicans to use the COVID crisis to prevent people from voting, particularly poor people, people of color. They’ve done that all along. Here’s a good one, in Alabama, if you want to vote by absentee ballot, you have to have a notary public sign that you did it. … It’s aimed at stopping people of color and poor people from voting. We feel extremely strongly that everyone should be able to vote, that the COVID crisis should not stand in the way of what is the hallmark, the wellspring of America, which is free, fair, and open elections, and that will be a very important part of the legislation that we’re going to put forward, and we are going to fight like the devil for it.”

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