Nancy Pelosi is infamous for her “You have to pass the bill to know what’s in the bill” form of legislating. She did it with Obamacare, the disastrous overhaul of our health care system, and she’s doing it again with H.R. 1, a disastrous overhaul of our election system.
In both instances, Pelosi and the Democrats met behind closed doors to craft legislation that removes power from the citizens and places it squarely in the hands of the least deserving people of all: DC politicians. Republicans were not given the opportunity to offer comments during the drafting of the bill, it never went through committee and Pelosi took it straight to the House floor for a vote, without offering any time for debate.
In short, H.R. 1 is yet another naked power grab by the Democrats.
Misnamed as the “For the People Act of 2021,” the bill, which passed last night on a 220-210 vote, is more accurately described by Republicans as the “For the Politicians Act.” As John Fund wrote this week in The Spectator, “HR 1 would cement all of the worst changes in election law made in blue states in 2020 and nationalize them. Federal control of elections would be the norm. States would be relegated to colonial outposts that carry out Washington DC’s mandates.”
Here’s what Democrats in the House just voted to do:
- Legalize ballot harvesting
- Eliminate state voter ID laws
- Empower the federal government to draw district lines for the states
- Allow convicted felons to vote the minute they are released from prison
- Expand mail-in voting
- Standardize same-day voter registration
- Force the disclosure of names of all citizens who donate to non-profit organizations
Perhaps most egregious of all is the provision that requires taxpayers to fund congressional campaigns, with no say whatsoever about which candidates receive their largesse. That’s right, matching funds would be given to qualifying congressional candidates from both parties at a rate of 6:1. Fox News explains:
The 6:1 match would kick in for each grassroots contribution to a candidate up to $200. For example, a $200 donation to a House candidate would garner a $1,200 match in public funds for a total contribution of $1,400.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy released a video explaining everything that is wrong with H.R. 1., which you can watch below:
The bill now goes to the Senate, where the 50-50 party split means anything could happen. In the meantime, twenty Republican state attorneys general have sent a letter to congressional leaders stating that H.R. 1 violates the Elections Clause of Article I of the Constitution and the Electors Clause of Article II, concluding: “It is difficult to imagine a legislative proposal more threatening to election integrity and voter confidence.”
Democrats have repeatedly stated that the 2020 elections were the safest in history. If they truly believed that, they would have welcomed Republican input on election reform and allowed vigorous debate on the House floor. Instead, they have confirmed their fear of free and open elections and are using their majority status to neutralize states rights and disenfranchise millions of American voters.
Teri Christoph is editor of Fierce, a weekly newsletter about conservative women and politics.
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