Kevin Mullin, California State Assembly Speaker Pro Tempore and the man retiring Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier has endorsed to replace her in Congress, is calling for stronger federal protections of elections amid multiple Republican states' push to restrict access to the ballot.
Mullin, who served as an aide to Speier when she was a state legislator, told KCBS Radio’s Doug Sovern in Thursday's episode of "The State of California" he felt compelled to run for his mentor’s seat because he believes American "democracy is under attack" across the country. Whereas California has emphasized "lowering the barriers to participation in elections," Mullin said many Republican-controlled states "are moving in a completely different direction," one he characterized as perilous for the country.
The South San Francisco assemblymember introduced legislation focused on broadening electoral access in the state, including a bill enabling counties to conduct special elections entirely by mail and a constitutional amendment that would’ve allowed 17-year-olds eligible to vote in the next general election to cast a ballot in intervening primaries and special elections. California voters shot down the amendment last November.
An October analysis conducted by the Brennan Center for Justice determined 19 states had enacted 33 laws restricting voting access. A handful of Republican-controlled states, following widespread false claims from former President Donald Trump and others of voter fraud in the 2020 election, limited early voting, mail voting and implemented stricter voter ID requirements.
A number of conservative groups conducting audits of the 2020 presidential election have also found no widespread voter fraud, yet national polls consistently find Republican voters lack trust in elections at much higher rates than other groups. The nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation and Research called the 2020 election "the most secure in American history."
"There's all sorts of talk of voter fraud that has absolutely no relationship to reality," Mullin said. "Voter fraud is largely a myth. It is miniscule. You've got a situation in many states now where there's sort of a partisan takeover unfolding, where Republican officials in red states are trying to take over the elections processes and, in many cases, the threat is if they don't like the election results, they'll simply reject them and overturn them."
The Senate last month failed to pass the House-introduced John Lewis Voting Rights Act, falling 10 votes shy of breaking the filibuster. The Freedom to Vote Act, a corresponding piece of legislation introduced in the Senate, also faces stiff Republican opposition.
Republicans could control both Congressional chambers following next year's midterm elections, presenting longer odds for voting rights legislation to pass. Mullin said he "felt compelled to act to try to fight for our democracy" in spite of the "toxic nature of Congress right now."
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