Pennsylvania Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro did not mince words when responding to former Trump White House policy adviser Stephen Miller's complaint about Pennsylvania's automatic voter registration plan, one of the boldest expansions of voting rights yet.
Miller, known for his hardline stance on immigration during the Trump administration and his promotion of far-right ideologies, took to social media to comment on Pennsylvania's newly announced voter registration policy.
In a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, he suggested the process would be rife with fraud, writing:
"And, I can promise you, there will be no citizenship verification."
You can see Miller's post below.
When CNN anchor Poppy Harlow brought up Miller's post, Shapiro retorted:
“I am not going to respond to Stephen Miller. That guy’s a dope who can’t tell the truth.”
But when anchor Phil Mattingly pushed further and suggested that implementing automatic voter registration would play into fears about a "rigged" election, Shapiro fired back:
"Phil, respectfully, I think you're giving their lies too much oxygen. Here's what I know happened in Pennsylvania."
"Not only did I defeat them in court 40 times, not only did we prove that many of their lawyers lied in court and their licenses were stripped away frrom them because they lied, including [former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani], but I put together a coalition of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents in the 2022 election who said 'no' to extremism, 'no' to lies and elected me the governor because they wanted me to be able to ensure the continuation of free and fair, safe and secure elections here in the Commonwealth."
"This builds on that work we've done. Voter participation is central to our democracy and those who are standing up and making it harder for people to vote? That's anti-democratic. That's anti-freedom."
"That's not the way we do things here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania."
You can hear his remarks below.
Shapiro continued to dismiss Miller's comments, saying, "He doesn't raise any substance," and went on to provide clarity about Pennsylvania's automatic voter registration policy.
The "actual substance," Shapiro said, involves automatically registering eligible citizens to vote when they obtain or renew a driver's license or state-issued ID card. However, individuals who are not eligible to vote will not be registered during this process, as confirmed by a spokesperson from the Pennsylvania Department of State in statements to ABC News.
Many echoed Shapiro's criticisms of Miller.
Pennsylvania recently became the 24th state to implement automatic voter registration, a process that research has shown can lead to increased voter registration and turnout.
The state's decision to adopt this policy has not been without its share of political debates and discussions, and in the last couple of years, Republicans have made considerably more headlines for efforts to undermine the people's will.
The Democratic-controlled Senate last year ran into roadblocks while attempting to pass comprehensive voting rights legislation.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, has made clear that the Senate would “consider changes to any rules which prevent us from debating and reaching final conclusion on important legislation,” including voting rights legislation, reigniting debates on whether or not to abolish the filibuster.
President Joe Biden previously announced his support for amending Senate rules and changing the filibuster to pass voting rights legislation.
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