Republican Spin on Democrats’ Voting Bill

In the days leading up to the Senate vote on the House-passed elections bill, Republicans offered several misleading talking points about the Democratic bill, and made other statements that required more context.

Republicans said the bill would direct taxpayer money to publicly finance federal campaigns. The matching campaign money would come from a new surcharge added to certain criminal fines and civil settlements involving corporate defendants and their executive officers.

Republicans said the bill creates a “speech czar” who would limit the free speech of campaigns. The bill proposes to...