Voting Rights

Voting Rights

Voting Rights

Overview


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DEMOCRATIC PARTY: Opposed to Safeguards Against Election Fraud
In 2005, a landmark report by the bipartisan Commission on Federal Election Reform, known informally as the Carter-Baker Commission, advised all U.S. states that in order to guarantee free and fair elections, they should:

  • increase voter ID requirements
  • minimize the use of mail-in ballots, which “remain the largest source of potential voter fraud”
  • disallow ballot harvesting by third parties
  • purge voter rolls of all ineligible or fraudulent names
  • allow election observers to monitor ballot-counting processes without restraint or obstruction

These recommendations were widely watered down, and in some cases entirely ignored, in the elections of November 2020 — chiefly because of Democrat efforts to circumvent and change existing election laws by unconstitutional and illegal methods. Those Democrat efforts were wholly consistent with the party platform’s pledge to “make voting easier and more accessible for all Americans by supporting automatic voter registration, same-day voter registration [on Election Day], early voting, and universal vote-from-home and vote-by-mail options.” All of those Democrat proposals dramatically increase opportunities for voter fraud, particularly in light of the fact that state voter rolls are already known to include at least 24 million ineligible or inaccurate voter registrations.

HARRIS & BIDEN: The For The People Act
The Heritage Foundation has reported that H.R. 1, The For the People Act of 2021, sought to:

  • “seize [for the federal government] the authority of states to regulate voter registration and the voting process by forcing states to implement early voting, automatic voter registration, same-day registration, online voter registration, and no-fault absentee balloting”
  • “make it easier to commit fraud and promote chaos at the polls through same-day registration, as election officials would have no time to verify the accuracy of voter registration information and the eligibility of an individual to vote …”
  • “degrade the accuracy of registration lists by requiring states to automatically register all individuals (as opposed to ‘citizens’) from state and federal databases”
  • “constitute a recipe for massive voter registration fraud by hackers and cyber criminals through online voter registration”
  • “make it a criminal offense for a state official to reject a voter registration application … because the official believes the individual is ineligible to vote”
  • “require states to count ballots cast by voters outside of their assigned precincts, overriding the precinct system used by almost all states [to] prevent election fraud”
  • “mandate no-fault absentee ballots, which are the tool of choice for vote thieves”
  • “ban witness signature or notarization requirements for absentee ballots”
  • “require states to allow … vote harvesting … so that any third parties—including campaign staffers and political consultants—can pick up and deliver absentee ballots”
  • “prevent election officials from checking the eligibility and qualifications of voters and removing ineligible voters”
  • “ban state voter ID laws by forcing states to allow individuals to vote without an ID and merely signing a statement in which they claim they are who they say they are”
  • “require states to allow 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds to register”
  • “require states to restore the ability of felons to vote the moment they are out of prison, regardless of uncompleted parole, probation, or restitution requirements”
  • “transfer the right to draw congressional districts from state legislatures to ‘independent’ commissions whose members are unaccountable to voters”
  • “authorize … the IRS to investigate and consider the political and policy positions of nonprofit organizations before granting tax-exempt status”

In a March 1, 2021 statement of policy, the Biden-Harris White House said of H.R. 1: “[T]his landmark legislation is urgently needed to protect the right to vote and the integrity of our elections and to repair and strengthen American democracy.”

On June 22, 2021, VP Harris stated: “I want to be clear that our administration remains determined to work with Congress to pass The For The People Act.”

During a July 13, 2021 speech in Philadelphia, President Biden said: “Vice President Harris and I have spent our careers doing this work. And I’ve asked her to lead, to bring people together to protect the right to vote and our democracy. And it starts with continuing the fight to pass H.R.1, The For the People Act. That bill — that bill would help end voter suppression in the states…. Last month, Republicans opposed even debating, even considering [The] For the People Act. Senate Democrats stood united to protect our democracy and the sanctity of the vote. We must pass The For The People Act. It’s a national imperative.”

HARRIS & BIDEN: Opponents of Election-Integrity Legislation
On July 12, 2021, at least 51 of the 67 Democrats in the Texas House of Representatives fled their state and flew to Washington, D.C., so as to deny Texas Republicans the quorum needed to pass new voter-integrity bills to which the Democrats objected. The proposed legislation called for such things as: (a) ID requirements for people voting by mail, and (b) prohibitions barring local election officials from sending vote-by-mail applications to people who had not requested them. Sen. Harris praised the Democrats who left the state, saying: “I applaud them standing for the rights of all Americans and all Texans to express their voice through their vote, unencumbered.” “I will say that they are leaders who are marching in the path that so many others before did when they fought and many died for our right to vote,” she added.

In March 2021, the Georgia state legislature passed a law (SB 202) that contained provisions designed to eliminate voter fraud and election corruption — most notably, by increasing requirements for voter ID. President Biden characterized the law as racist, describing it as “Jim Crow on steroids.” On another occasion, he said that such “most pernicious” “new Jim Crow laws” were “antithetical to who we are” and “mak[e] Jim Crow look like Jim Eagle.” Biden pledged, moreover, to do “everything in my power” to prevent the enactment of other, similar laws. On June 25, 2021, the Biden-Harris DOJ announced that it was suing Georgia over SB 202.

During a July 13, 2021 speech in Philadelphia, President Biden said: “This year alone, 17 states have enacted — not just proposed, but enacted — 28 new laws to make it harder for Americans to vote, not to mention — and catch this — nearly 400 additional bills Republican members of the state legislatures are trying to pass. The 21st century Jim Crow assault is real…. This is election subversion. It’s the most dangerous threat to voting and the integrity of free and fair elections in our history…. We’re are facing the most significant test of our democracy since the Civil War. That’s not hyperbole. Since the Civil War.”

During an August 2024 presidential campaign rally in Arizona, VP Harris vowed that she would “finally pass” the Freedom to Vote Act, which would: (a) enact no-excuse mail-in voting for every eligible voter in the country; (b) permit all registrants to use drop boxes to submit their absentee ballots; and (c) automatically register voters unless they proactively chose to opt out.

HARRIS & BIDEN: DOJ Sues Arizona over Voter Citizenship Requirement
The Biden-Harris administration objected strongly to a 2022 Arizona law requiring people to show documents proving their U.S. citizenship before they could vote in a presidential election or vote by mail in any federal election. The law was slated to take effect at the start of 2023.

On June 27, 2022, Kristen Clarke, the head of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, sent Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich a letter threatening a federal lawsuit designed to block the aforementioned statute. On July 1, Brnovich replied to Clarke with a letter claiming that his state’s new law was a “common sense” measure, and questioning whether the federal government was “attempting to undermine our [Arizona’s] sovereignty and destabilize our election infrastructure.”

On July 5, 2022, the DOJ sued to block the enactment of the Arizona law. According to Clarke, the statute’s “onerous documentary proof of citizenship requirement” constituted a “textbook violation” of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, which required all states to accept a federal voter-registration form that asked voters to attest under penalty of perjury that they were citizens, but did not require them to show documented proof of their citizenship. “For nearly three decades, the National Voter Registration Act has helped to move states in the right direction by eliminating unnecessary requirements that have historically made it harder for eligible voters to access the registration rolls,” Clarke stated in a press release. “Arizona has passed a law that turns the clock back on progress by imposing unlawful and unnecessary requirements that would block eligible voters from the registration rolls for certain federal elections.”

HARRIS & BIDEN: DOJ Sues Virginia for Removing Non-Citizens from Voter Rolls
On October 11, 2024, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it was filing a lawsuit against Virginia and its Board of Elections because of that state’s efforts to enforce a 2006 law mandating the removal of non-citizens from its voter lists. Those efforts were being made in compliance with an August 7th executive order by which Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin required “all registrars” to “cancel the registrations of non-citizens who have registered to vote in a local, state, or federal election by falsely claiming that they are a citizen, including the forging of documentation or any other means of improper registration.” When making the case for his executive order, Youngkin stated that “79,867 deceased voters” had been removed from Virginia’s voter rolls in 2023 alone, and another “6,303 non-citizens” had been removed between January 2022 and July 2024.

WALZ: Voter ID Laws Are Racist
Walz believes that voter ID laws are racist and are designed to suppress voter turnout among nonwhite minorities.

WALZ: Restoration of Voting Rights for Convicted Felons
In 2024, Gov. Walz’s official website has highlighted his support for “restoring voting rights for over 55,000 formerly incarcerated people in Minnesota.” (Note: such individuals overwhelmingly vote for Democrats)

WALZ: Automatic Voter Registration
In May 2023, Walz, calling it “a great day for Democracy,” signed into law the “Democracy for the People Act,” which implemented “automatic voter registration” for all individuals whose names appear in government databases. According to a Heritage Foundation report, such a practice promotes the registration of “large numbers of ineligible voters, including aliens, and [can] cause multiple or duplicate registrations of the same individuals.”

WALZ: Pre-Register 16-&-17-Year-Olds
In May 2023, Walz signed into law the “Democracy for the People Act,” which allowed 16- and 17-year-olds to pre-register to vote. A Heritage Foundation report states that such a practice, “when combined with a ban on voter ID and restrictions on the ability to challenge the eligibility of a voter,” “effectively ensure[s] that underage individuals [can] vote with impunity.”

WALZ: Create a Permanent Absentee Voter List
In May 2023, Walz signed into law the “Democracy for the People Act,” which created a permanent absentee voter list of people who would thenceforth automatically receive a ballot whenever there was an election. Such a policy of course encourages absentee and mail-in voting, a practice highly conducive to voter fraud.

DEMOCRATIC PARTY: Opposes Proof-of-Citizenship Requirement for Voters
In July 2024, the U.S. House voted on the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, which sought to require people to provide proof of their American citizenship when seeking to obtain for voter registration forms. The bill passed by a margin of 221 to 198.

  • Republicans supported the measure unanimously, 216 to 0.
  • Democrats overwhelmingly opposed it, 198 to 5.

TRUMP: Supports All Recommendations by the Carter-Baker Commission
Trump has spoken out frequently and forcefully in favor of all the recommendations made by the landmark 2005 report by the Carter-Baker Commission, which advised all U.S. states that in order to guarantee free and fair elections, they should:

  • increase voter ID requirements
  • minimize the use of mail-in ballots, which “remain the largest source of potential voter fraud”
  • disallow ballot harvesting by third parties
  • purge voter rolls of all ineligible or fraudulent names
  • allow election observers to monitor ballot-counting processes without restraint or obstruction

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