Congressional Republicans will have to agree to fund national vote-by-mail for the coming November election, or pay a political price with the American people, according to Sen Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn).

National Democrats and others want to conduct this year’s November elections by mail due to the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic.

Donald Trump and his Republican allies have opposed vote-by-mail efforts. Republicans–backed up by a US Supreme Court decision–forced elections to go on in person in Wisconsin in April despite an attempt by Democratic Gov Tony Evers to postpone.

“We have to get this done in this next package to get funding to the state so that you don’t have that situation where people in garbage bags and homemade masks are standing in line in the rain like we saw in Wisconsin while the president of the United States can simply request a mail-in ballot from Palm Beach, Fla., and vote in the luxury of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,” said Klobuchar, the former presidential candidate and whose husband had to recover from COVID-19. “Everyone should have that right. And we should also use this funding to make sure polls are open 20 days in advance, and that we train a new generation of poll workers. We must make this election safe for Americans. And the president can say what he wants.

“The people are with us, Al. They’re with us in swing states, in North Carolina, and in Iowa. They’re with us in states that understand that with Republican governors as well, everyone, no matter what your political persuasion, you should be able to vote safely,” Klobuchar said in an on-air interview with MSNBC host Al Sharpton. “And so it is going to be wrath on my Republican colleagues if they do not allow for some funding to make sure Americans can vote safely. Our state and local governments don’t have the money right now around the country. That’s what’s going to be this big fight coming up in this next legislative package. We have to protect our very democracy.”

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