The federal government's playbook is pretty simple.
- Find a "crisis."
- Claim that the states can't handle the "crisis."
- Pass legislation removing power from the states and transferring power to handle the "crisis" to the federal government.
Washington keeps using the same playbook because it works.
And now they're at it again.
H.R. 1 has been dubbed a "voting rights" bill by the mainstream media, but it's nothing more than the federal takeover of the state election process from coast to coast.
Here's what the "voting rights" section would do:
- Create a baseline set of federal requirements for how states across the country administer elections
- Mandate that states automatically register all eligible citizens to vote
- Require same-day voter registration to be offered to all eligible voters
- Allow voters to meet any state’s voter identification requirements with a “sworn written statement” signed under penalty of perjury
- Establish Election Day as a national holiday
- Implement no-excuse absentee voting
- Require 15 days of early voting at a minimum
- Restrict the reasons states could remove a name from its voter rolls
- Restore the franchise to all incarcerated individuals released from jail
- Require states to create independent redistricting commissions to redraw congressional districts as necessary
In other words, rather than maintaining our federalist system and allowing the states to control voting requirements for their own residents, H.R. 1 would transfer all of that decision-making power to bureaucrats in Washington.
Republican congressmen have harshly criticized the new bill.
“If you liked how the last election was run, you’re going to love H.R. 1,” Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said. “It’s got all of Election 2020’s greatest hits—nationalized, federally funded, and designed to keep Democrats permanently in power.”
“This scheme would mandate a federal takeover of elections, centralize election administration in Washington, DC, and make permanent universal ‘pandemic-style’ mail-in voting that undermines trust in our elections,” added Rep. John Joyce.
The legislation has already passed the Democrat-controlled House. If the Democrats overturn the filibuster in the Senate--or convince 10 Republicans to join them in the name of "voting rights"--Washington will assert complete control over yet another area of American life.
H.R. 1 may not pass this year, but we must build constitutional firewalls to protect the American people against this kind of federal overreach moving forward.
Article V is our most powerful tool. Article V of the Constitution allows the states to call a "convention for proposing amendments." At this Convention of States, states have the power to propose constitutional amendments that limit the power, scope, and jurisdiction of the federal government. These amendments can shore up the federalist system our Founders envisioned, and overturn activist Supreme Court decisions that allow the federal government total control over our daily lives.
To join the movement, sign the petition below!
