Share
House Democrats’ HR1 Election Reform Bill Seeks To Save American Democracy
House Democrats are finally able to present their agenda after the LARGEST Midterm election win in history. As you'd expect, Republican reps think it's evil. They would....
The Democrats’ first order of business as they took control of the 116th Congress was introducing H.R. 1, the colossal “For the People Act.” This 571-page behemoth of a bill covering voting rights, campaign finance reform, ethics improvements.... By beginning with election reform as “H.R. 1,” Democrats signaled their priorities as they took over control of the House of Representatives. The bill now has 221 co-sponsors, all Democrats.... “For the People Act” would go an enormous way toward repairing our badly broken democracy.
....a wish list for voting rights advocates and election reformers.... requiring online voter registration, automatic voter registration, and same-day registration for voting in federal elections; a requirement to use independent redistricting commissions to draw congressional districts in each state; limitations on voter purges; an end to felon disenfranchisement for federal elections; protection against intimidation and false information surrounding elections; improved access to voting by persons with disabilities; a set of improved cybersecurity standards around voting and voting systems, including a requirement that all voting systems produce a paper trail for auditing and checking results; and a ban on a state’s chief election officer engaging in political activities connected to federal offices.
....related to campaign finance would expand disclosure rules to cover ads on the internet....; establish a small-donor multiple match public financing system for Congress and a similar fix to the now-moribund presidential public financing system; create a pilot program for the use of campaign finance vouchers in congressional elections; enact a new set of rules to make sure that super PACs do not coordinate with candidates; and reconfigure the Federal Election Commission, with an odd number of commissioners and a requirement that at least one of the commissioners not be a Democrat or Republican.
The ethics provisions would require the Supreme Court to be bound by an ethics code, strengthen conflict of interest laws, and require presidential and vice presidential candidates to release 10 years of tax returns.
Unfortunately, the Republican party seems to have lost its interest in improving democracy, even when it comes to limiting foreign interference in American elections and assuring the voting rights of all eligible Americans.
There’s no question that H.R. 1, if it passes the House, will go nowhere in the upper chamber. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, an ardent opponent of laws regulating money in politics.... voting rights and election reform should not be partisan issues. They will only become bipartisan again when both parties see that expanding the electorate can actually help them gain seats, and that will require some fundamental changes in the platform and electoral strategies of the Republican Party.
It’s disheartening that bipartisan movement on election reform is no longer possible and that few of the significant improvements in the bill stand a chance of becoming law until Democrats have control of the Senate and the presidency. Even then some of its provisions could be blocked by a conservative-leaning Supreme Court.
But if and when Democrats ever do return to full power in Washington, H.R. 1 should remain the top priority. In the meantime, Democrats must do everything they can to ensure that some version of the “For the People Act” eventually becomes law
Judge how significant this legislation is based on who hates it: Mitch McConnell and lobbyists.
McConnell.... characterizing the bill as a Democratic attempt to “grow the federal government’s power over Americans’ political speech and elections.”. ...a nefarious attempt to silence free speech and turn US democracy into one-party rule.
Conservative and libertarian group FreedomWorks has been circulating a form letter to members for the past two weeks, calling HR 1 a “dangerous bill".... National Association of Business Political Action Committees... is calling the anti-corruption bill....“potentially onerous legislation”... The Conservative Action Project....calling the bill “the ultimate fantasy of the left”....
Washington’s lobbyist and influence industries seem nervous.... McConnell could be nervous. Americans of both parties have been clamoring to get money out of politics for years; Trump ran on a message of “draining the swamp” in 2016, and House Democrats rode to a wave election in 2018 on an anti-corruption message.
Democrats wanted to follow up that win by taking concrete action to reform elections, especially after multiple allegations of voter suppression in states like Florida, Georgia, and North Dakota.
Sources:
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/01/nancy-pelosi-election-reform-bill-save-democracy.html
https://www.vox.com/2019/1/18/18188150/mitch-mcconnell-house-democrats-anti-corruption-bill-hr1