U.S. Representative Terri Sewell, D-Alabama, the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Elections for the Committee on House Administration, issued a statement Thursday on President Trump’s threat to take over U.S. election systems.
“Trump’s threats to take over our elections are just the latest in a series of extremely alarming and increasingly brazen attempts to subvert the will of the American people and hold on to power,” Sewell said. “While these efforts are clearly intended to disrupt the upcoming midterm elections, the damage to our democracy—if they are successful—will be long-lasting and potentially irreversible.
“The ability of voters to elect candidates of our choice is foundational to the American experiment. It is a freedom that generations of Americans fought, bled, and died for—many in my hometown of Selma, Alabama. It is what sets us apart from despotic and oppressive regimes across the globe. And it is what safeguards the liberties that we as Americans hold dear. And yet, it has never been in so much danger.
“This is a five-alarm fire for our democracy. It is once again time for principled Republican leaders to muster the courage to say publicly what they say in private. This moment demands that Republicans forcefully and unequivocally condemn Trump’s attacks on our elections—just as they did in the aftermath of the January 6th attack—before it is too late.
“American democracy will not survive if only one party is committed to upholding the ideals that allow it to function. Its future will depend upon what happens right now.”
