Is HR 1 Actually a Voting Rights Bill?

In order to exert greater federal control over American elections, Democrats are masquerading House Resolution 1 (HR1) as a “voting rights bill.”  They are even extending the description of HR 1 as a “civil rights bill” – intimating that it is to extend the voting rights of Black and Hispanic citizens.  Neither is true.

The fact of the matter is that HR 1 does not provide a single American voter with the right and ability to vote who does not already enjoy that right and ability.  There is NO restriction on the right or ability of an American citizen who has attained the age of 18 to exercise their right to vote … period.  That guarantee was addressed as early as the post-Civil War constitutional amendments. A number of laws enacted since then – culminating with the 1965 Voting Rights Act. 

According to the Constitution, it is up to the states to establish specific voting procedures as long as they do not violate one or more of the inalienable constitutional rights of the people.  For example, states cannot change the voter age requirements for federal candidates – or donation regulations for federal campaigns. 

Today, every American who wants to register and vote can do so – and it is not a cumbersome process for anyone.  Registration locations and registration drives are ubiquitous in every community.  Polling places, days and times provide universal convenience.

Democrats claim that illegal voting and improper tabulation does not exist at all – calling it a BIG LIE.  It is also a BIG LIE to say it does not exist.  We see illegal activities in virtually EVERY major election.

As with virtually every other issue, Democrats play the overly and improperly used race card. 

They see the false cries of racism as the means to maintain voter loyalty primarily among Blacks and Hispanics.  Republican response to Covid-19 is racist.  Securing our southern border is racist.  Tax reduction is racist.  Fighting crime is racist.  School choice is racist.  AND … election security is also racist.

No matter which big lie you may believe, we should all be able to agree that our elections should be as safe and secure as possible.  Every vote should be cast and counted honestly.  To do that, we need safety measures that protect the process from registration through certification.

Democrats also claim that protective measures are racist.  A photo identification is racist – suggesting that Blacks and Hispanics are not smart enough to register and obtain a photo ID.  And that only involves the small percentage of minorities who currently do not possess an acceptable photo ID in the form of a drivers’ license, school ID or a special voter ID.

Having been involved in the fight against – and the investigation of – vote fraud for almost 50 years, I well understand the potential and reality of election manipulation.  The essential protection is to have the registration, the voting and the counting conducted within a very secure pipeline.  The longer the time between casting and counting a ballot the more opportunity for illegal manipulation.

There are a few simple measures to protect elections.

1. Require pre-voting registration and remove all deceased or ineligible voters from the voting rolls prior to every election.  In the 2020 election alone, ineligible voters cast tens of thousands – perhaps even hundreds of thousands –of ballots.

• Early voting leaves ballots stored outside the perimeter of total protection.  The longer the early voting period, the more the ballots are vulnerable to manipulation.  In fact, in many cases, the control of the ballots is exclusively in the hands of one political party.  That is why early voting should be one-week – starting on Monday – eight days before Election Day – and concluding by 5:00 p.m. on the Sunday before Election Day.  Officials should count the ballots at the polling place on Election Day along with those cast in person.

• Same day or provisional voting creates opportunities for illegal voting.  Since voter registration is a one-time requirement – unless a person moves – and is easier than getting a drivers’ license — there is no reason for walk-in voting.  It is just another opportunity to game the system.

• Absentee voting by mail is one of the weakest links in the ballot security chain.  Mail-in ballots should only be for those who cannot vote early or on Election Day.  They can cast absentee ballots by mail.  The individual voter must request the ballot and have a valid explanation as to why they cannot vote early or on election day.

• Absentee ballots must be mailed through the United States Post Office.  It should be illegal for political operatives to “harvest” ballots and dump them at the polling places.

• Mailing official ballots to all registered voters is an open invitation to massive vote fraud.  Such ballots would go to millions of ineligible voters in a national election.

Our election process should not be dependent on catching the vote thieves after the fact. 

It is necessary to prevent the theft.  That is because vote fraud is extremely difficult to prosecute.  The secrecy of the ballot process makes it exceedingly difficult to identify the culprits – and consequently, very difficult to indict and convict anyone.

Virtually everything Democrats propose they design to weaken the security shield.  The racist accusations are political poppycock.  It is ironic that Democrats scream voter suppress at a time when minority voters – especially Blacks – are voting in record numbers and proportions.

There is nothing in the proposed laws to enhance ballot security in 43 states that limits or suppresses any American from registering and voting if they choose to do so.  HR 1 is a dangerous and unnecessary intrusion into the states’ constitutional right to manage local elections.  HR 1 is nothing less than another power-grab by the federal government at the hands of the authoritarian forces within the Democratic Party.  It not only should be defeated.  It must be defeated.

So, there ‘tis.