Legislative Blog
J.B. Williams, J.D.
Voter Access and Integrity
A Blog about Freedom to Vote 2021
A Bit of Background
The following backgrounds help summarize the author's views on both the general topic: Federal and more specifically Freedom to Vote 2021 as it relates to that topic.
Brief Summary of Federal
This should be a fairly limited bills area for management the overall structures like highways, military, federal buildings, federal laws, and the like. However it has become the micro manager of all micro managers. They get involved in areas that no federal government should be involved in, and shift more power upward. This has led to each party trying to run over the other party in the eyes of the voters, all the while doing everything possible to maintain their power. They do this by holding onto all of the money, and claiming they know best how it should be spent. But they run debts so badly that no one should be looking to them as an example of anything other than the way to overspend and go further into debt.
Summary of Freedom to Vote 2021
John R. Lewis Act. While I understand the Federal Government's duty to ensure that it's citizen can vote freely, the extensive rules being proposed will force one of two actions. Either the state will 100% follow the federal guidelines and have none of their own, possibly to the detriment of it's citizens. Or the state will have one set of rules for federal voting and another set of rules for state voting. There by creating issues of federal funding to a state and/or confusion from it's citizens regarding rules for voting.
Blog Summary
It expands the registration and allows it up until the day of voting. It takes away the state's right to ensure the person is legally eligible to vote. Unless the state has clear and convincing evidence that the person is not eligible they must register them. They even require drop boxes. A big concern after I saw video where individuals were dropping dozens of mail-in votes each time into drop boxes; and doing so more than 10 times.
Voter Access and Integrity
Published: 2021-11-24
Overview
This bill mentions the Fourteenth Amendment, Section 2 providing the power of Congres to reduce a State's representation in Congress when the right to vote is abridged or denied. Congress feels that States have eroded access to the right to vote through restrictions on the right to vote including excessively onerous identification requirements, limited and unequal access to voting by mail, polling place closures, unequal distribution of election resources, and other impediments. They fund the right of suffrage has been diluted and debased by means of gerrymandering districts. (Something I think both sides of the aisle do. Perhaps letting a computer program generate districts is a better approach.) They find that racial discrimination in access to voting and the political process persists. They claim studies have shown that minority communities wait longer in lines to vote, are more likely to have a ballot rejected, continue to face intimidation at the polls, are more likely to be disenfranchised by voter purges, and are disproprotionately burdened by excessively onerous voter identification and other voter restrictions. (For years my county has had a website that shows all of the voting locations with notation as to the approximate wait time. The biggest item that seems to get people purged are moving and failing to update their information. I know a lot of people fail to update their driver's license so I imagine they forget to update address for voter registration. And the claims of it being too difficult to get id has always seemed ridiculous. I've worked with Legal Aid where I live for many years. They require identification, per Federal rules/regulations, in order to be able to provide legal assistance to qualifying candidates. Identification has not been an issue for any of the individuals.)
Congress finds that felony disenfanchisement was one of the tools of intentional racial discrimination during the Jim Crow era. They feel that the ability to pay creates a burden to allowing them to vote.
This law can only be challenged in the District Court in the District of Columbia, and appeal to the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Then the Supreme Court has final appeallate. This limits people without the financial means to challenge any portion of this law.
Voter Access - Division A
Called the Voter Empowerment Act of 2021 it modifies the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 USC 20501)
It would require that getting a driver's license or other service from the motor vehicle division would be automatically registered to vote. In order to not be registered the individual must affirmativel decline. Registration for voting must be no more than 28 days prior to election. Anyone that is 16 may register but may not vote until they are 18. This seems to complicate voter rolls and require an individual notify another change of address shortly after turning 18 if they move. It does require they be a US citizen to vote and that they must affirm they are. They can only deny them registration if they have evidence they are not an US citizen, they may not by ask them for any proof of citizenship. Although it proof of citizenship is generally required for other service then they can use that. But I imagine they could put this in place and later get showing proof as unconstitutional. And should it later be discovered that they are not a citizen and not eligible to vote, their failure to provide proof of citizenship cannot be used against them. It would have to be shown that they knowingly and willfully registerd to vote. I would think that knowing you are not a citizen, registering and claiming you are would be willful and knowing.
They want to make election day, that is the Tuesday after the first Monday in November in even-numbered years - a holiday. Now I'm not saying this isn't a nice gesture but really that is all it is. Most retail workers work majority of holidays. Hospital workers, fire people, police, and 911 operators all work holidays. Majority of grocer stores are open most holidays, generally only closing on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. Restaraunts are rarely closed, so all of those employees would be working. All this means is people will get paid more to work those days and that majority of salaried (if not all) will have the day off. If someone wanted to claim extended differences between salaried and hourly, that would be yet one more item they could point to.
Expanding voter registration to on line. I guess that is for those individuals over 16 that do not have a driver's license or any state issued identification. And not to worry if there is no signature on file anywhere, you can provide that the first time you vote. And the first time you vote can be by mail. Hmm, that doesn't sound like it is protecting against fraudulent voting at all. And they want to ensure that voters can opt for email only rather than mailed information. Only issue I see here is someone altering the email for someone, and that individual not realizing it was changed until it's time to vote. Or perhaps having them sent to an email address that you later never check and completely forget about it. Allows individuals to register and vote on same day. Even those with guardianships must be permitted to vote unless a court of competent jurisdiction issues an order that by clear and convincing evident the indivdual cannot communicate.
They have specific rules surrounding early voting. It must begin the 15th day before the election, including weekends, and end no earlier than the second day before election day. Voting must be at least 10 hours per day. Texas does 17 days before election but closes early voting 4 days prior. This is to ensure that all early voting is counted before election day voting begins. Means that the same people can do both, and yet all of the ballots are tallied separately and are never intermixed. Voting in Texas is 9 hours per day except the last 2 days of early voting, they are 12 hours. Federal law would require the inclusion of at least consective Saturday and Sunday. They also require all early voting to be counted prior to election day. For larger states closing 2 days prior to election day may create issues counting all of the ballots. And they require mail in ballots to be available to everyone. I have conflicting feelings about this since there can absolutely be more fraud in mail in ballots. I've heard that places that use it do not have more fraud but these are also places that do not believe there is voter fraud. There have been anonymous confessions in which indivduals claim that mail in ballot fraud is not the exception, it is the rule.
They want to require drop boxes for every 45,000 registered voters or per every 15,000 votes cast by mail in the most recent Presidential election. They require curbside voting. That is the norm where I reside. I drive my neighbors, who are in the 90s, to the polling location and call the number so that the poll worker can come out to allow them to vote from their car. They could vote by mail but have been concerned about that working well. Voting rights can only be denied if serving a felony sentence in a facility at the time of the election. They could require id for in person voting but must provide alternatives. One alternative would be a sworn statement from someone else who has known them for 6 months and swears they are who they say they are. They also require the use of SNAP card, Medicaid card, carry permit, utility bill, lease document, bank statement, health insurancea card or copies of any of these. These do not have photos and a copy could be gotten easily. But to be sure people could get an id, they want to appropriate $5 billion for ids to be issued in 2022. (Obviously this would shift since it didn't pass in 2021.) Removal from voting rolls is only permitted if they have objective, reliable evidence that they died or permanently moved out of state. I foress if this were to pass that voter rolls would soon and frequently exceed the number of adults over the age of 18.
Election Integrity - Division B
It would be a crime to intimidate, threaten, coerce, or attempt to do those things to an election worker with the intent to impeded, intimidate, or interfere with the official duties. It makes it a crime to distribut materially false information and having the intent to impede another from exercising their right to vote. States cannot prohibit the distribution of food/beverage outside the polling location but may require that it is not political in nature. I'm sure this is because one state passed a law stated that food and drink from a candidate or endorsing a candidate could not be distributed but it was reported as if the state was prohbiting the distribution of food and drink. (Because sadly people do not bother to read actual laws, they merely believe whatever fantasy the news is sellling.)
They are also attempting to curb the use of anonymous shell companies from donating to political parties or individuals. US companies must diclose their beneficial owners. But in reality they could establish a shell company outside the US and make the donations anyway. This is really more virtue signalling. They also want the FBI to look into foreign contacts. But political parties and politicians often have foreign contacts. Finding those connections just gives the other party the opportunity to make baseless claims. Again this is all purely for staging, nothing will be done other than creating theater. And they are requiring all voting system from 2024 to be made in the USA. Sadly I'm not sure that will actually mean they are secure, but it's a start. Hopefully there will be more than 1 manufacturer.
Civic Participation and Empowerment - Division C
They ban mid-decade redistricting. They are limited any post 4/21/21 redistricting by saying they cannot do it unless it is necessary. They list rules that must be met. Issues become that Texas gained seats in the House and California lost seats. So I would think that would meet requirements.
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