Kevin Kiley Accuses Gavin Newsom Of Trying To 'Suppress Voters' With Special Election

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In House floor remarks on Wednesday, Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA) spoke about voting districting.

Transcript

00:00Thank you, Mr. Speaker ProTen. I'm going to yield to my friend from California as much time as he may consume.

00:10Thank you very much to my friend from Arizona.

00:15Mr. Speaker, in 2010, California voters overwhelmingly voted to establish a Citizens Redistricting Commission.

00:24The voters said, we want to take the process of drawing district lines out of the hands of politicians.

00:31They said that voters should choose their politicians. Politicians shouldn't choose their voters.

00:38And that commission has drawn our district lines through the last two rounds of redistricting.

00:44And yet now, the governor of California has announced a plan to abolish the Citizens Redistricting Commission

00:53and to seize its powers for himself.

00:57He initially proposed simply ignoring the commission, ignoring the Constitution,

01:02and overriding his maps with those that he and the legislature drew.

01:06But apparently someone told him that that would get immediately struck down in court.

01:10So now what they are plotting is a special election where they will use confusing ballot language

01:18and other means of deception to try to convince voters to fool voters into dismantling the very independent commission

01:27that they recently established.

01:30And the point of this is that the governor would like to reduce the representation of Republicans in Congress

01:37in our state to three members out of 52, so that Republicans will hold 6% of the seats,

01:45even though Republicans typically get over 40% of the vote in statewide elections.

01:51It could be the single most egregious act of corruption in the history of our state.

01:57And you don't need to take my word for that.

02:00You can take the word of Common Cause, which is a group that typically almost always aligns with Democrats

02:06on elections and voting issues, whose executive director said, quote,

02:10point blank, it is a dangerous move.

02:14Or you can take the words of Patricia Sine, who is a Democrat serving on the Citizens Redistricting Commission,

02:21who said the very purpose of the state's independent redistricting commission

02:25is to protect voters from partisan power grabs like this.

02:29If this were to succeed, it would set a dangerous precedent for suppressing voters across the nation.

02:37Mr. Speaker, this is a moment for every Californian and every American of decency,

02:43regardless of party affiliation, to speak out against the abject corruption that our governor is attempting.

02:51Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Heather and Jeremy Reynolds,

02:59the first and second place winners of the 69th annual Tevis Cup,

03:04a grueling 100-mile endurance trail ride from Robey Park to Auburn, held on July 12th of this year.

03:11This year's competition proved even more challenging than usual,

03:15with the heat and rocky road providing unforgiving conditions for all competitors.

03:19Of the 105 entrants, only 43 were able to complete the ride to Auburn.

03:24However, the couple persevered through, crossing the finish line in 17 hours and 45 minutes.

03:31Over the span of more than 20 years of competitive riding,

03:34the two have accumulated countless awards, including eight Tevis Cups and five Hagen Cups.

03:40Despite their many accolades, the one challenge they had never conquered was crossing the finish line together.

03:45In this year's competition, they did, crossing the finish line with their hands joined together,

03:51marking an astounding new achievement that's been a goal of theirs for over two decades.

03:56Together, Heather and Jeremy Reynolds embody perseverance, teamwork, and competitive excellence.

04:02Their achievement serves not just as personal fulfillment,

04:05but also as an inspiration to their peers, fellow competitors, and our community at large.

04:11It is an honor to represent remarkable individuals, such as Heather and Jeremy in Congress.

04:17Therefore, on behalf of the United States House of Representatives,

04:20I proudly extend my heartfelt congratulations to Heather and Jeremy Reynolds

04:25for their exceptional athletic achievement at the 69th annual Tevis Cup

04:29and commend them for their unwavering dedication to the tradition and sport of equine endurance riding.

04:37With that, I yield back to the representative, my friend from Arizona.

04:40Thank you to my friend.

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