Senate Republicans Block Election Security Bill For 3rd Time

Republican Senators have rejected an election-security bill for the third time this year. The bill, “Defending Elections from Threats by Establishing Redlines (DETER Act),” was written by Republican Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) and Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) in an effort to protect the U.S. election system after the U.S. intelligence community determined that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. The DETER Act was shut down by Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) with the blessing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has been dubbed “Moscow Mitch” due to his opposition to election security bills. Crapo defended his decision by stating the bill was attacking Trump’s administration rather than protecting the election system from foreign interference.

Similar bills, like the “Securing America’s Federal Elections Act” (SAFE Act) and “Stopping Harmful Interference in Election for a Lasting Democracy (SHIELD Act), share similar motives to improve election security measures have also been shut down by Republican senators.

Republican lawmakers have expressed concerns about foreign interference in the election system, in particular, Russia. However, they have yet to agree on how to tackle the issue.