Democratic Congress members rally to protect the vote in Queens

Democratic members of New York’s congressional delegation convened in Queens Wednesday to say “No Kings.”

Upstate Rep. Joseph Morelle, ranking member of the Committee on House Administration, which has oversight over federal elections, hosted a “shadow hearing” in Forest Hills with Reps. Gregory Meeks, Grace Meng, Paul Tonko and Adriano Espaillat to champion election security and voting rights in both New York and across the country in opposition to President Donald Trump’s efforts to undermine the election system ahead of this November’s battle for Congress.

“Everytime President Trump and his administration has tried to interfere with the integrity of the midterm elections, they have lost. In the courts, states are 26 and 0,” Morelle said. “I suspect if you were 0 and 26 and you were coaching the New York Knicks, you would change things up pretty quickly. But, the president seems undeterred so we will continue to fight him in the courts.”

The hearing, which congressional nominee Brad Lander also joined, convened members from voting and civil rights organizations to discuss ways to instill confidence in the current election system, educate voters on their rights and assess threats to voting access.

Trump unsuccessfully attempted to overturn the 2020 election won by Joe Biden and since then, has continued his offensive against the country’s elections. In his second term, his administration has played coy about the possibility of sending U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to the polls and tried to limit mail-in voting through executive order.

“I’d be shocked if he didn’t try to cheat,” quipped Meng after the hearing. 

New York has some of the strongest election protections on the books, which was touted by one of the people testifying. The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act of New York, signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul in 2022, prohibits practices that harm New Yorkers’ voting rights such as intimidating voters and interfering with access to polling booths, and also expands language assistance for those with limited English proficiency.   

“I want to give a shoutout to New York who led the way in expanding and enacting their New York state Voting Rights Act in 2022,” said John Cusick, assistant counsel at the Legal Defense Fund. “Congress must also continue to act. It shouldn’t take a heroic effort from civil rights and pro-democracy groups to protect the democracy. We need help.”