By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Missouri U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt has been in the middle of the fight in Washington over proposed changes to the nation’s election laws.
Blunt, a Republican, opposes a proposal by Democrats to provide greater federal oversight of state and local elections. Blunt, the former Missouri Secretary of State, says elections need to be left in the hands of local officials.
“I think elections are better run by people who are closer to voters and have a higher sense of responsibility that voters need to, one, be able to vote as easily as they can, but two, also have real confidence that whatever happened on Election Day was what really happened and what voters intended to have happen,” Blunt tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post.
The election measure, named after Civil Rights leader Congressman John Lewis of Georgia, squeaked through the U.S. House 219-to-212 on a party-line vote. Senate Republicans have vowed to block the package from coming to a vote in that chamber.
“The bills that the Democrats have produced so far are an absolute takeover of elections,” Blunt says “Now, they’d love to also change the redistricting system set up in the Constitution without changing the Constitution before this very next redistricting occurs in the next six months or so. And so, they’re desperate to get this done.”
Blunt also served as an election official on the local level, working as Greene County Clerk prior to being elected Secretary of State.
He doesn’t see the legislation passing in Washington.
“I don’t think they can get it done, but I’ll be in the middle of that fight.”