Republicans, Braced for Losses, Push More Voting Restrictions in Congress

[dalton99a]

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/us/politics/republicans-vote-fraud-id-midterms.html

https://archive.ph/JCxvc

Republicans, Braced for Losses, Push More Voting Restrictions in Congress
Legislation that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote was only the beginning as the G.O.P. presses to sharply limit voting in line with President Trump’s false claims of widespread fraud.
By Annie Karni
Feb. 17, 2026

The strict voter identification measure that Republicans have pushed through the House is just their opening salvo in a broader legislative effort aimed at keeping control of Congress this fall and helping to amplify the president’s false claims of mass voter fraud in the event that they lose.

The G.O.P.’s relentless focus on the bill and an even more restrictive measure making its way through the House — both of which face a steep uphill path to becoming law — is aimed chiefly at intensifying pressure within their own ranks to muscle through new voting restrictions and seek to reshape the electorate in their favor.

But it also allows Republicans to hammer President Trump’s falsehoods about widespread illegal voting particularly by undocumented immigrants, helping them build a case, however groundless, that any Democratic victories in November will be a result of cheating.

Next up is a measure from Representative Bryan Steil of Wisconsin, the chairman of the Committee on House Administration, whose “Make Elections Great Again Act” would go even further in imposing federal control over elections than the Save America Act, which squeaked through on a near-party-line vote last week. That bill would require proof of American citizenship to register to vote and allow the Department of Homeland Security to have access to voter rolls.

...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Republicans want Noem to decide who can vote

[kwolf68]

1. Just sponsor a new bill

The End Democracy Act. Be done with the dog and pony show. Just install a fascist cabal into power and have "elections" like they have in Russia or Nazi Germany. Freedom!

[RedWhiteBlueIsRacist]

2. They keep moving the goal posts. The last few years they were pushing for driver's license requirements.

Now, it is proof of citizenship. Next, it will be, prove you are human and not a bot. And from there, "Can you provide a sample of your father's seed used in fertilizing your embryo?"

[chouchou]

3. This person is SO fed up with this bullshit regarding, "Voter Fraud"...

...that's constantly yakking by the Right-Wing-Republicans.

"The Brennan Center’s seminal report on this issue, The Truth About Voter Fraud, found that most reported incidents of voter fraud are actually traceable to other sources, such as clerical errors or bad data matching practices. The report reviewed elections that had been meticulously studied for voter fraud, and found incident rates between 0.0003 percent and 0.0025 percent. Given this tiny incident rate for voter impersonation fraud, it is more likely, the report noted, that an American “will be struck by lightning than that he will impersonate another voter at the polls.”

Rick Scott of Florida spent large amounts of money to prove that there's "A lot of Fraud"
3 weeks later..He gave up and acted like he never brought up the whole damn thing..

[MustLoveBeagles]

4. They're afraid

They know that voters are done with their BS.

[Initech]

5. It's not the Save Voting Rights Act. It's the Protect Donald Trump Act.

Sorry MAGA losers, but playtime is over. Your precious emperor has literally failed us on every single level and he and his ridiculous goon squad regime must be fired and arrested now.

[modrepub]

6. If It's A Blow Out Now

Imagine how people are going to feel once Trump goes bonkers attacking Iran (and Republicans do nothing to stop or limit it)?

I don’t think what few Allies we have are going to tolerate something like a prolonged attack that really serves no real purpose and could cause significant collateral damage or some type of incident that balloons out of control.

[Beartracks]

7. "Republicans, Braced for Losses, Prepare to Cheat" There, fixed it.

Tipping the table in your favor is akin to tilting a pinball machine to try and win.

It's called cheating. Even if you do it "legally" through the mechanics of democracy, i.e. legislation.

You don't have to "hack" a computer somewhere to hack an election.

And Republicans want to hack every election they can.

Hacking elections is not democracy.

But Republicans have no use for democracy. Assuming they ever did.

================

[Zorro]

8. If voter fraud is so rampant

why are Republicans in the majority of the House and Senate?

[ck4829]

9. But the Dow is at 50,000! Republicans should feel as though voters will feel enthusiastic about the economy! Golden Age!

[Skittles]

10. I had to fill in the circles with a pen to vote today

this was on-site, not mail in.....it is ridiculous