{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://cohen.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-condemns-vote-suppression-efforts-texas-and-pennsylvania", "Congressman Condemns Vote-Suppression Efforts in Texas and Pennsylvania", "2020-10-02", "2020", "2020-10", "Democrat", "Senate", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), Chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties with jurisdiction over voting rights, today condemned vote-suppression efforts in Texas and Pennsylvania aimed helping President Trump just a month before the November 3 election.\nTexas Governor Greg Abbott has signed an executive order limiting Texas counties  some larger than two states  to one drop-box for mail-in ballots. Pennsylvania's Republican-dominated legislature is considering an election integrity committee, with subpoena power, with authority to impound uncounted ballots in a transparent effort to weed out disfavored ballots and delay certification of the election results.\nCongressman Cohen made the following statement:\nThe vote-suppression efforts under way in both Texas and Pennsylvania are an outrageous effort to obstruct the democratic process. Every eligible American must be able to cast a meaningful ballot. In fact, during this pandemic, it is critical that we find additional safe ways to ensure Americans can vote without exposure to COVID-19. Efforts to suppress the vote in Harris County Texas -- which includes Houston, and is larger than the state of Rhode Island -- are a transparent attempt to limit the Black and Hispanic vote. The American people are wise to these cynical ploys and won't tolerate tampering with the bedrock principle of democracy  the right to vote. These desperate, last-minute tactics, designed to suppress the vote, cannot be permitted to stand.\nCongressman Cohen is a champion of voting rights. He presided at hearings reviewing the Supreme Court's 2013 Shelby County v. Holder ruling that struck down the Voting Rights Act's Section 5 preclearance provision, and has strongly advocated its reinstatement. He similarly presided at a hearingon Protecting the Right to Vote During the COVID-19 Pandemic earlier this year.\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://cohen.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-condemns-vote-suppression-efforts-texas-and-pennsylvania"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.021748874336481, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}