All House Democrats on Monday signed a broad electoral reform bill that they say will expand voting rights and “clean up corruption” in politics – while Republicans see it as a “federal takeover” and accuse Democrats trying to change the electoral rules for their own benefit.
The President of the Democratic Reform Task Force, Rep. John Sarbanes, D-Md., Announced on Monday that all House Democrats co-sponsored the legislation – HR 1, the People’s Law 2021.
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“The House Democrats are united in our unwavering commitment to moving forward in the fight against corruption and clean electoral reforms, quickly passing HR 1,” Sarbanes said in a statement on Monday.
“Our historic reform effort will end decades of dysfunction in Washington, restore power to the people and build a more just, equitable and prosperous country for all Americans,” he said.
The project must be considered in the plenary of the Chamber during the first week of March. Republicans protested the bill during previous attempts to bring the legislation to a vote, arguing that it would give the federal government more power to decide the representation of the people.
According to the Democrats, the bill “would improve access to the ballot box” by creating an automatic electoral register across the country and ensuring that individuals who have served their sentences for crime have their full voting rights restored. The project will also expand early voting and improve absentee voting, simplifying voting by mail.
The bill also commits Congress to delivering “full parliamentary and self-governing voting rights to residents of the District of Columbia, which only the state can offer,” prohibits purging of voter lists and “puts an end to party gerrymanding to prevent that politicians choose their voters “.
Republicans argued that this decision to defend the creation of a state in DC is a political move to secure two permanently Democratic seats in the U.S. Senate, in what is a Democratic jurisdiction for Republicans of approximately nine to one.
The legislation also “ensures that American elections are decided by American voters”, increasing federal support for the security of the voting system, specifically with respect to paper ballots, and also increasing the oversight of electoral system providers and requiring ” developing a national strategy to protect US democratic institutions. “
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The project also seeks to “end the domination of too much money in our policies” and aims to illuminate “dark money in politics”, updating the dissemination of political ads online and requiring all organizations involved in political activities to disclose their major donors.
The bill also “breaks the so-called ‘nesting doll’ hoax that allows major contributors and special interests to hide the true source of funding for their political spending” and “strengthens the political power of American workers by creating a multiple system combination for small donations. “
The counterpart system “will be paid in full by a new surcharge on corporate lawbreakers and wealthy tax swindlers” in an effort to “bear the cost of building a more just and equitable democracy”.
The bill also reaffirms Congress’ authority to regulate money in politics, rejecting the Supreme Court’s Citizen United decision.
The legislation also enforces rules on Super PACs and restructures the Federal Electoral Commission to “improve its enforcement mechanisms”, while revoking defenders of Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, who “prevent government agencies from requiring disclosure. of political spending “.
Meanwhile, the project seeks to “strengthen the ethics law” by breaking the “Washington influence economy” and increases accountability by expanding conflict of interest laws and divestment requirements in an effort to slow down the “revolving door” and prevent members of Congress to work on corporate boards.
The bill also, in a blow to ex-President Trump, requires presidents to disclose their tax returns – something Trump was able to avoid while in office.
The legislation would also close loopholes for foreign lobbyists and agents and ensure that guards have “sufficient resources” to enforce the law.
The Republican opposition was fierce during the last session. At the time, the then Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Labeled it “Democratic Politician Protection Act” and said in an article that Democrats were trying to “change the rules of American politics to benefit a party. “
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House minority leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., Also said of the 2019 iteration of the bill at the time that it features a “massive takeover of the federal government that would undermine the integrity of our elections.”
The issue of gerrymandering has become a controversial issue in recent years, including in 2018, when advocates successfully sought a reshaping of Pennsylvania’s congressional districts in the mid-decade, many said they were inclined towards Republican representation.
A recent Wall Street Journal editorial written in opposition to the legislation warned that HR 1 is an exercise by Mayor Nancy Pelosi in “cementing Democratic political power” in association with a bill that aims to establish a port state -Rican.
“HR1 imposes California-style electoral rules across the country. The bill requires each state to register voters based on names in state and federal databases – just like anyone who receives food stamps or interacts with a state DMV, ”wrote the council. “In general, the bill aims to self-enroll prospective Democratic voters, increase Democratic participation, without any concern for the integrity of the vote.”
The council added that the project’s campaign finance sections will simply limit conservatives’ freedom of expression through forced disclosure of donor names.
“Left-wing pressure groups and the media will stigmatize donors,” they claim.
And last year, in an attempt to take the bill to the Senate for consideration, the American Civil Liberties Union urged lawmakers to vote against the bill because of “provisions that unconstitutionally violate the rights of free speech of American citizens and public interest organizations “.
“They will have the effect of damaging our public discourse by silencing the necessary voices that would otherwise speak about the public issues of the day,” wrote the ACLU.
A concern for civil libertarians is the inclusion of the DISCLOSE bill, which would require all organizations that spend money on elections to disclose donors.
The ACLU said it supports organizations reporting public communication spending, such as TV ads, which expressly call for the election or defeat of a candidate for office, but are concerned that the DISCLOSE Act goes beyond that.
“These patterns are not clear and completely subjective, which will lead to confusion and, ultimately, less talk,” said the ACLU.
Charles Creitz of Fox News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.