How HR1 Would Change Elections

March 19, 2021 Epoch Times

On March 3, the Democrat-led House passed H.R. 1, the For the People Act of 2021, which was introduced by Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.). The election reform package, if passed by the Senate, would transfer authority over how elections are administered from states to the federal government and make permanent many voting rules that opponents say lead to voter fraud.

The 791-page-long H.R. 1 legislation package, which was marked up by members of the 116th Congress, was adopted without much debate. Some provisions, like ensuring that all voting machines used in U.S. elections are also manufactured in the United States or increasing access for voters with disabilities, are supported by both sides, but most other provisions are contentious.

The sweeping election reform package is divided into three major sections; the second section is the main body of the legislation, with three subsections: a) voting, b) campaign finance, and c) ethics. Section three is the “Findings of General Constitutional Authority” and section four is the “Standards for Judicial Review.”

Here are some of the key changes to election laws made by H.R. 1:

Gives the federal government authority to administer elections: Although the U.S.Constitution gives states the authority to run their elections as they see fit, Democrats have interpreted the Constitution in their favor, stating in H.R. 1 that “Congress finds that it has broad authority to regulate the time, place, and manner of congressional elections under the Elections Clause of the Constitution, Article I, section 4.”

Limits a plaintiff’s access to federal courts when challenging H.R. 1: The bill mandates that any lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of H.R. 1 could only be filed in the District Court for the District of Columbia and all plaintiffs would be required “to file joint papers or to be represented by a single attorney at oral argument.” Mandates automatic voter registration (AVR) in all 50 states (19 states currently have AVR): In what proponents call “modernizing” elections, any person who gives their information to designated government agencies, such as the Department of Motor Vehicles, a public university, or a social service agency, would be registered to vote. The bill mandates same-day and online registration.

Mandates no-fault absentee ballots: This provision does away with witness signature or notarization requirements for absentee ballots. Additionally, it would force states to accept absentee ballots received up to 10 days after Election Day.

Prevents election officials from removing ineligible voters from registries or confirming the eligibility and qualifications of voters: The bill would make it illegal to verify the address of registered voters, cross-checking voter registration lists to find individuals registered in multiple states, or ever removing registrants, no matter how much time has elapsed.

Restores the Voting Rights Act: This provision requires states to obtain approval from the federal government before implementing any changes to voting rules. There is also a provision that criminalizes the “hindering, interfering, or preventing” of anyone from registering or voting.

Bans state voter ID laws: States would no longer be allowed to require ID for voting and would be forced to accept signed statements from individuals claiming to verify who they say they are.

Opens Door to Illegal Immigrants Voting: The bill shields non-citizens from prosecution if they are registered to vote automatically. Agencies wouldn’t be required to keep records of those who decline to affirm their citizenship.

Allows same-day voter registration: States would be required to permit same-day registration, including for early voting, at polling stations. The section includes a clause that requires same-day voter registration to be implemented in time for the upcoming elections in 2022.

Allows 16-year-olds to register to vote: From Jan. 1, 2022, states wouldn’t be allowed to refuse avoting application from anyone aged 16 or older. Additionally, states would be required “to carry out a plan to increase the involvement of individuals under 18 years of age in public election activities.”

Prohibits the publication of “misleading information” about elections: The bill makes it a federalcrime to “communicate or cause to be communicated” information that is knowingly false and designed to discourage voting, carrying a sentence of up to five years. Opponents say the provision raises First Amendment concerns.

Allows felons to vote: Under the Democracy Restoration Act, federal dollars for prisons wouldbe restricted in states that don’t allow ex-convicts to vote. The bill says that all felons can vote unless they are “serving a felony sentence in a correctional institution or facility at the time of the election.”

Mandates early voting: States would be required to allow anyone to cast a ballot during an early voting period prior to the date of the election.

Legalizes nationwide mail-in voting, without photo ID: Absentee voting by mail would be allowed in all federal elections and “may not require an individual to provide any form of identification as a condition of obtaining an absentee ballot.” A witness signature wouldn’t be required.

Promotes ballot harvesting: Any designated person would be allowed to return absentee ballotsto any ballot drop-off location or election office, so long as the person doesn’t receive compensation based on the number of ballots he or she collected. Additionally, there would be no limit on the number of absentee ballots any designated person could return.

Requires states to accept ballots 10 days after Election Day: States would be required to accept anymailed ballots postmarked before or on Election Day that arrive within 10 days of the election. The bill allows states to expand that deadline.

Prohibits state election officials from campaigning in federal elections: State election officials would be banned from participating in political management or campaigns for any election in which the officials have supervisory authority. This would most affect states like Georgia, whose secretaries of state have been notably involved in elections.

Requires colleges and universities to hire “campus vote coordinators”:

The bill requires institutions of higher learning to employ an official who would be responsible for informing students about elections and encouraging them to register to vote. It would incentivize voter registration by giving grants to institutions that have a high registration rate.

Mandates that states make absentee voter boxes available for 45 days within an election: Dropboxes would be made available for individuals to drop off absentee ballots for federal elections at any time, 24 hours a day, during the voting period.

Requires states to allow curbside voting: States may not “prohibit any jurisdiction administeringan election for Federal office in the State from utilizing curbside voting as a method by which individuals may cast ballots in the election.” Urges statehood for the District of Columbia and representation forterritories: The bill points to the fact that the District of Columbia is not yet a state, adding, “The United States is the only democratic country that denies both voting representation in the national legislature and local self-government to the residents of its Nation’s capital.” It appoints a commission that would advocate for congressional representation and presidential votes.

Requires states to redraw

congressional districts through

“independent” commissions:

Taking power away from state legislatures, the bill would require redistricting to occur through commissions that are also required to show “racial, ethnic, economic, and gender” diversity.

Creates a national commission to

“protect United States democratic

institutions”: A national

commission would study elections and produce a report after 18 months with recommendations for improving elections. It would comprise 10 members, only four of whom would be selected by the minority party, giving control to the majority party (at this time, Democrats).

Mandates new disclosure for

corporations: The bill codifies the

Democrats’ DISCLOSE Act, to

restrict corporate participation in elections. Democrats say this provision will shed light on dark money, while Republicans counter that the legislation’s transparency requirements would violate free speech rights.

Oversight of online political

advertising: A provision called

the Stand By Every Ad Act would

stop campaign dollars from covering any form of advertising over the internet. Opponents say this would increase the cost of campaigning.

Weakens the Supreme Court’s

2010 decision in the case Citizens

United v. Federal Elections

Commission (FEC): The bill states that “the Supreme Court’s misinterpretation of the Constitution to empower monied interests at the expense of the American people in elections has seriously eroded over 100 years

of congressional action to promote fairness and protect elections from the toxic influence of money.” It also suggests that the Constitution should be amended “so that Congress and the States may regulate and set limits on the

raising and spending of money.”

Allows politicians to use campaign

funds for personal use: Under a

provision called the Help

America Run Act, the bill legalizes the use of campaign donations for personal expenses such as child care.

Changes the composition of the

FEC: The bill decreases the

number of members on the FEC

from six to five. Four members can be associated with a particular political party, making the fifth member “independent” but nominated by a president associated with a party. Former FEC members have written to Congress, warning about this change and other related provisions.

Changes rules around conflicts of

interest for the president and vice

president: It would require the

president or vice president to divest all financial interests that could pose a conflict of interest for them, their families, or anyone with whom they are negotiating or who is seeking employment in their administration.

Changes FEC rules to require

presidential candidates to

provide their tax returns: Within

15 days of becoming a “covered candidate,” the individual would be required to submit copies of his or her tax returns, going back 10 years, to the FEC.

REPUBLICANS

State Legislatures Across Country Push for Voting Integrity

Multiple initiatives across different states

to address election concerns

YUROMANOVICH/SHUTTERSTOCK

ince the hotly contested 2020 election, Republican state

legislators have introduced bills in an effort to bolster

election integrity—particularly in states where the GOP

controls the legislature but Democrat President Joe Biden claimed victory.

There are six such states:Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. In all of them except New Hampshire, President Donald Trump contested the election results.

Republican lawmakers appear to have been most active in Arizona and Georgia.

ARIZONA

Require ID for Mail-in Voting:

On March 8, the Arizona

Senate passed a bill

requiring voters to include an ID number (such as from a driver’s license) or their voter registration number plus at least a proof of address (such as a utility bill) with their mail-in ballots. Previously, an ID was only required for in-person voting.

Ban Private Funding of

Elections: On March 3, the

Arizona House of

Representatives passed a bill banning private funding of elections. The bill is in response to the unprecedented move by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to pour more than $400 million into local election offices last year. The money was spent in a way that benefited Democrats, the Amistad Project reported last year.

TRAVEL DRAWN/SHUTTERSTOCK

Prohibit Same-Day Voter

Registration: On March 3,

the Arizona House passed a

bill that prohibits same-day voter registration.

Make It a Felony to Change

Election-Related Dates: On

March 4, the House

passed a bill that would make it a felony for election officials to change election-related dates and deadlines stipulated in law, unless ordered by a court. Election officials indeed made such changes on their own in some states last year, using the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic as justification.

Ban Unsolicited Absentee

Ballot Request Forms: On

March 4, the House passed

a bill that bans officials from sending out unsolicited absentee ballot request forms.

Change Deadline for

Postmarked Date: Another

Senate bill making its way

through legislative committees would require mail-in ballots to be postmarked by the Thursday before Election Day and received by close of polls on Election Day. It would require that mail-in ballots are sent to voters 22 days before Election Day, instead of the current 27 days. Voters who surrender their absentee ballot at the polls could cast a regular ballot, rather than a provisional one.

GEORGIA

voters to include an ID photocopy or ID number with their mail-in ballot applications

that the counting of ballots continue until it is complete (currently, election superintendents can stop counting and resume later)

RORIUS/SHUTTERSTOCK

voters to include an ID photocopy, ID number, or the last four digits of their Social Security number with their mail-in ballots

Various smaller bills are making their way through the committees:

early-voting locations to be only at the board of registrars main office, a county courthouse, a government office, or an Election Day polling place

Bar Codes for Ballots

One bill would furnish absentee ballots with barcodes for tracking purposes. Another would nix automatic voter registration at the Department of Motor Vehicles. Voters would need to opt in (such as by checking a box) to get registered.

non-government entities distributing absentee ballot applications to include their name and a disclaimer that the form was not supplied by the government

On March 1, the Georgia House of Representatives passed a wide ranging election reform bill that would require:

in the presence of people not authorized to assist them

the elimination of signature comparison in the verification of absentee ballots (replaced by the ID requirement)

the elimination of signature comparison in the verification of absentee ballots (replaced by the ID requirement)

mobile polling places to be allowed only if a judge permits them and there’s an emergency rendering a polling place unsafe for human occupation, or there’s a utility outage

Better Access for Poll Watchers

Yet another bill would expand poll watcher access so that they could observe all the key processes at a tabulating center with minimal restrictions. The bill appears to be in response to complaints by numerous Republican poll watchers that they were kept so far from where the tabulation processes were happening as to render their observation meaningless.

voters to include an ID number or ID photocopy with their absentee ballots

the state to no longer accept provisional ballots cast at the wrong precinct on Election Day

driver’s license numbers or the last four digits of one’s Social Security number on an absentee ballot envelope

precinct opening hours on Election Day to be extended only by court order

a ban on “money or gifts” (including food and drinks) for voters at a polling place or standing in line to vote

banning the secretary of state and county election officials from mailing unsolicited absentee ballot applications (which officials did in some states using COVID-19 as a justification)

limiting the number of drop boxes and their locations to polling places or registrar offices only

replacing the secretary of state as head of the state election board with a nonpartisan head appointed by the legislature

Keep Ballot Duplicates

One bill would require that, after counting, absentee ballots be sorted and stored by precinct in sealed containers, with the chain of custody logged until they are legally disposed of. Ballot duplicates, which are made for damaged ballots, would get serial numbers and be kept with the original ballots at all times.

drop boxes to be closed for

Election Day

a ban on sending absentee ballot applications that are pre-filled, even partially

Georgia’s Senate passed on March 8 its own election reform bill that would require:

the secretary of state to set up an online system for mail-in ballot applications

the elimination of signature comparison on absentee ballot applications (replaced by the ID requirement)

absentee voters to sign attestation, under penalty of perjury, that they didn’t mark their ballot

an end to no-excuse absentee voting

NEW HAMPSHIRE, MICHIGAN, PENNSYLVANIA, AND WISCONSIN

PUBLIC DOMAIN VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

In the other states, there seems to be much less activity.

Michigan

Michigan has a few smaller bills working their way through committees. One says that voters with “unknown dates of birth” should get notice to provide their real date of birth or get their status changed to “challenged,” which means they’d get removed from the rolls after missing two general elections and primaries. The notice, when returned, would get signature-matched to the voter records. Another bill would adopt a similar procedure to purge from the rolls people who haven’t voted since the 2000 general election.

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Republicans introduced several bills to remove dead or ineligible voters from the rolls as well as nix no-excuse mail-in voting. None of the bills, however, has made it out of a committee so far.

Wisconsin

In Wisconsin, Republican state Sen. Kathy Bernier introduced

on March 8 two bills that would make a number of small or technical changes to the election code.

New Hampshire

The New Hampshire Senate passed a bill on March 4 that would require voters to include their ID number and the last four digits of their Social Security number with absentee ballot applications.

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