HR 1 is titled “For the People Act of 2021.” It is anything but ‘for the people.’ The bill passed the House of Representatives on March 3rd with a 220 to 210 vote. All the Republicans voted against the bill and one Democrat, Representative Bennie G. Thompson of Mississippi, voted against it. The bill was received in the Senate on March 11th.
So what does this bill do?
The Heritage Foundation has a good summary. Here are some of the highlights:
Under H.R. 1 / S. 1 (the Corrupt Politicians Act), massive amounts of elections-related power would be transferred from the states to the federal government. The bill interferes with the ability of states and their citizens to determine qualifications for voters, to ensure the accuracy of voter registration rolls, to secure the integrity of elections, to participate in the political process, and to determine the district boundary lines for electing their representatives.
This massive centralization of power into the hands of incumbent lawmakers is D.C. politicians’ way of trying to make sure the game is rigged in their favor. But politicians already in Washington should not be choosing who goes to Washington—voters should!
Here is the list of objectionable items:
Publicly funds political campaigns— H.R. 1 / S. 1 will use public funds to create a six-to-one match on political contributions up to $200. This would force the American people to spend millions of dollars to fund the campaigns of political candidates. (source: starting on page 604, line 1)
Candidate campaign salaries would be publicly funded— Candidates that take a salary out of their campaigns would now be able to be paid with public funds provided by the previously mention six-to-one match program. (source: starting on page 604, line 1)
Requires political non-profits to disclose donors — This provision is not about transparency, but giving militant Leftists the names and addresses of conservative donors. Leftist activists have repeatedly shown their willingness to dox conservatives, threaten their families, and pressure employers into firing them. H.R. 1 / S. 1 would further empower this dangerous cancel culture. (source: starting on page 515, line 3)
Sabotages state voter ID laws — When arriving at the polls, voters will not be required to show ID and can simply sign a statement in which they claim to be who they say they are. This undermines many states’ voter ID laws, which were enacted to combat impersonation fraud, voter registration fraud, duplicate voting, and voting by ineligible individuals, such as illegal aliens. (source: starting on page 43, line 21)
Mandates same-day registration — States will be required to immediately register a person to vote upon request, even on the day of an election. With no buffer-period to verify personal information, this provision enables voter fraud. (source: starting on page 78, line 6)
Automatically registers ineligible voters — States will be required to automatically add to voter registration rolls every person—regardless of voter eligibility—who partakes in certain government programs, such as receiving welfare or obtaining a driver’s license. Other provisions of H.R. 1 / S. 1 then restrict the ability of states to verify eligible voters and remove ineligible voters from voter registration rolls. This provision will automatically enroll ineligible voters such as illegal aliens. (source: starting on page 47, line 15)
Unconstitutionally requires states to restore the ability of felons to vote — Upon release from prison, every felon would immediately be restored the ability to vote. The 14th Amendment to the Constitution allows states to restrict voting rights to those who have participated in “rebellion, or other crime.” States have the constitutional authority to decide when or if to restore that right, as long as they do so in a manner that is not racially discriminatory. H.R. 1 / S. 1 would attempt to unconstitutionally overrule the 14th Amendment with a statute. (source: starting on page 142, line 21)
Violates the First Amendment — H.R. 1 / S. 1 deters political free speech by inserting a provision that makes it a criminal offense to provide “materially false” information that will “impede or prevent” someone from registering or voting. This provision is so vague that it would likely interfere with free speech and other legitimate activities. (source: starting on
page 122, line 13)
Requires ballots be counted outside of the voter’s precinct — This removes the integrity of the local government to verify voter rolls and oversee elections and gives the power to count votes entirely to the federal government. (source: starting on page 166, line 2)
Creates unaccountable redistricting committees — Currently, congressional district lines are drawn by state governments that are accountable to their constituents. Allowing unelected officials to determine congressional districts is a nakedly political ploy to draw more Democratic districts. (source: starting on page 286, line 12)
Alters Federal Election Commission into a partisan organization — Currently, the FEC has six members (three from each party), preserving its bipartisan nature. H.R. 1 / S. 1 would reduce the number to five, giving one party a majority and the opportunity to weaponize the FEC for their party’s benefit. (Source: starting on page 644, line 6)
Basically the bill enshrines all of the questionable practices that enable election fraud. That is not good news for election integrity.