Republicans counter Democrats’ ‘false narrative’ new voting bill is ‘racist’ amid evidence of record turnout

ATLANTA – EXCLUSIVE: House Republicans are pushing back on Democrats’ “false narratives” about their efforts to pass a newly-introduced national voting bill that includes policies the left has called “racist,” and “Jim Crow 2.0.”

Republicans on the Committee on House Administration traveled to Atlanta, Georgia, Monday to roll out the American Confidence in Elections (ACE) Act, something they say will give states the tools they need to not only protect the integrity of their elections, but also restore voter confidence in the elections process.

They were joined by some of the Democrat members of the committee for a field hearing at the former Atlanta Braves stadium, now used as a football field for Georgia State University, following the public introduction of the bill at the nearby Marietta Diner.

Fox News Digital spoke with members of the committee before and after the hearing, including its chairman, Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., who blasted the “lies” Democrats told about a similar bill passed by the Georgia state legislature in 2021 that implemented some of the same policies as the new national bill.

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“Tomorrow is the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, and as you probably remember, two years ago, Major League Baseball pulled the All-Star Game from Atlanta because they bought into the false narratives of the left, of Joe Biden and the Democrats, and their lies about Georgia’s election integrity bill,” Steil said. 

“Today, we’re introducing our conservative election integrity bill here in the state of Georgia that will provide all states across the country with the tools that they need to be able to enhance voter integrity, making sure that they’re connected with federal resources so that they can maintain their voter rolls,” he said. 

Steil said he fully expected Democrats to continue pushing the narrative that voter integrity provisions restrict voting, but noted Georgia’s record voter turnout in the 2022 midterm elections, one year after its voting law was implemented.

“When people have confidence in their elections, they’re more likely to vote,” he said. “You’re going to have Democrats drive forward a false narrative about what our bill does. It’s one of the reasons we’re taking our bill on the road, presenting it to the American people so they can see for themselves what the importance of voter integrity is and how our bill operates.”

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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who was temporarily waved onto the committee as a member from the state hosting the field hearing, told Fox it was crucial for the hearing to be held in her home state because of what she said was possible election fraud faced by its voters in the 2020 presidential election, as well as fears of potential future fraud.

Greene went on to say that it was “an absolute lie” for Democrats to claim Republican efforts on election integrity reform amounted to racism.

“To require voter ID in elections, proving citizenship, is extremely important. That’s not racist. That’s just the right thing to do to protect our elections and to protect election integrity,” she said. 

“This is a Democrat way of crying foul. They want to increase as many voters as possible. They don’t even care if illegals vote in our elections,” she said. “We want to make sure that only United States citizens vote in our elections, deciding who they elect, which obviously impacts life in America.”

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Greene said she joined the committee for its field hearing in Georgia because she wanted to play a role in implementing voter ID requirements as part of the bill.

“I want to support this bill because it’s extremely important that we protect our elections. We don’t want any type of voter fraud ever to exist. And that doesn’t have anything to do with Republicans or Democrats. That has everything to do with keeping our elections safe. And that’s why I came today,” she added.

Fox attempted to speak with multiple Democratic members of the committee following the hearing, including the ranking member, Rep. Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., and Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., but was denied by Democratic committee staff.

Fox also attempted to speak with Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Ga., who, like Greene, was waved onto the committee for the hearing. Her staff attempted to hurry her away when questioned, but as she left she told Fox she was “glad to do this today.” 

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“Making sure everyone has access to the ballot box is critical,” McBath said.

Even if passed by the narrow Republican majority in the House of Representatives, it’s unlikely the bill would advance through the Democratic controlled Senate or be signed into law by President Biden.