The following contains editorial content written by a retired Chief of Police and current staff writer for Law Enforcement Today
WASHINGTON, DC- Are you familiar with H.R.1: For the People Act of 2021? If you’re not you should be. The act would be better named “H.R.1: For Making Sure Republicans Never Win Another National Election Act of 2021.”
This bill, if passed will fundamentally change how America conducts elections. Actually what it will do in part is codify the apparent massive irregularities that occurred in the 2020 election.
Before getting into the sordid details of this abomination, let’s take a look at Article II, Section I, Clause II of the United States Constitution:
Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress…
In other words, the Framers of the Constitution specifically said that state legislatures, not Congress shall determine how electors are determined in their states.
This argument was part of the irregularities argued in the 2020 election, as several states, among them Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan all had election laws changed either by courts, governors or unelected election officials.
It would appear that what Congress is trying to do, in part would be unconstitutional, although truth be told, it is uncertain if the Supreme Court, which has shown itself to be pretty much gutless with a few exceptions would do their Constitutional duty. However, here is what is proposed in H.R., proposed by Rep. John P. Sarbanes (D-MD). This is not the full text of the bill, just the “highlights”:
1). Internet-only registration with electronic signature submission.
(a) Requiring Availability For Online Registration- Each State, acting through the chief State election official shall ensure that the following services are available to the public at any time on the official public websites of the appropriate State and local election officials in the State, in the same manner and subject to the same terms and conditions as the services provided by voter registration agencies under section 7(a);
(1) Online application for voter registration
2). Banning the requirement to provide a full SSN for voter registration
Sec 1005. PROHIBITING STATE FROM REQUIRING APPLICANTS TO PROVIDE MORE THAN LAST 4 DIGITS OF SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER
(a) Form Included With Application For Motor Vehicle Driver’s License- Section 5 (c)(2)(B)(ii) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20504(c)(2)(B)(ii) is amended by striking the semicolon at the end and inserting the following: “and to the extent that the application requires the applicant to provide a Social Security number, may not require the applicant to provide more than the last 4 digits of such number;”.
3) Nationwide “Motor Voter” registration
(2) DEFINITION.—The term “automatic registration” means a system that registers an individual to vote in elections for Federal office in a State, if eligible, by electronically transferring the information necessary for registration from government agencies to election officials of the State so that, unless the individual affirmatively declines to be registered, the individual will be registered to vote in such elections.
NOTE: In other words, motor voter, which provides registration for anyone either obtaining or renewing an operator’s license or registration, would be mandatory. This type of program is alleged to be the reason that thousands of illegals became registered voters in states such as California and Nevada.
4) 16 year olds required to be registered to vote
(d) Treatment of Individuals Under 18 Years of Age—A state may not refuse to treat an individual as an eligible individual for purposes of this part on the grounds that the individual is less than 18 years of age at the time a contributing agency receives information with respect to the individual, so long as the individual is at least 16 years of age at such time. Nothing in the previous sentence may be construed to require a State to permit an individual who is under 18 years of age at the time of an election for Federal office to vote in the election.
5) Nationwide same-day registration
(1) REGISTRATION.—Each State shall permit an eligible individual on the day of a Federal election and on any day when voting, including early voting is permitted for a Federal election—
(A) to register to vote in such election at the polling place using a form that meets the requirements under section 9(b) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (or, if the individual is already registered to vote, to revise any of the individual’s voter registration information); and
(B) to cast a vote in such election
6) Grants (25M for using minors in election activities.
(1) IN GENERAL- The Election Assistance Commission (hereafter in this section referred to as the “Commission”) shall make grants to eligible States to enable such States to carry out a plan to increase the involvement of individuals under 18 years of age in public election activities in the State.
7) More children voters.
(k) Acceptance of Applications From Individuals Under 18 Years of Age-
(1) IN GENERAL- A State may not refuse to accept or process an individuals application to register to vote in elections for Federal office on the grounds that the individual is under 18 years of age at the time the individual submits the application, so long as the individual is at least 16 years of age at such time.
8) Prohibiting attempts to clean voter rolls of non-residents.
(1) REQUIREMENTS FOR CHALLENGES—No person, other than a State or local election official, shall submit a formal challenge to an individual’s eligibility to register to vote in an election for Federal office or to vote in an election for Federal office unless that challenge is supported by personal knowledge regarding the grounds for ineligibility which is—
9) Would permit convicted felons the right to vote
(1) NOTIFICATION—On the date determined under paragraph (2), each State shall notify in writing any individual who has been convicted of a criminal offense under the law of that State that such individual has the right to vote in an election for Federal office pursuant to the Democracy Restoration Act of 2021 and may register to vote in any such election and provide such individual with any materials that are necessary to register to vote in any such election.
