The Patriot Post® · HR 1 Is Voter Suppression

Following Governor Brian Kemp’s signing into law Georgia’s latest election reform legislation — a bill aimed at shoring up election integrity — Democrats, led by Joe Biden, have smeared the law and Republicans generally, despicably and falsely claiming the bill is equivalent to resurrecting Jim Crow. It is anything but, yet that hasn’t stopped Biden and Democrats from disseminating the wildly false narrative.

In his attempt to “show” how “terrible” Georgia’s law is, Biden disingenuously claimed, “They pass a law saying you can’t provide water for people standing in line. … This is nothing but punitive, designed to keep people from voting.” In reality, the law prohibits electioneering, while at the same time explicitly stating, “This Code section shall not be construed to prohibit a poll officer … from making available self-service water from an unattended receptacle to [a voter] waiting in line to vote.” In other words, the truth is exactly the opposite of Biden’s smear.

Furthermore, Georgia’s prohibition against electioneering is a common feature found in many other states’ election laws. And these prohibitions have been found by the Supreme Court to be constitutional, most recently in 2018 when SCOTUS upheld a Minnesota law that prohibited anyone other than election officials and individuals waiting to vote from standing within 100 feet of a polling place.

Montana prohibits campaigns from handing out food or drink. New York bans “furnishing money or entertainment to induce attendance at polls” and also bars the passing out of “meat, drink, tobacco, refreshment or provision” worth more than a dollar. Biden’s own state of Delaware has similar prohibitions against giving gifts to voters. Is Biden smearing these as Jim Crow as well?

The real objection Biden and the Democrats have regarding Georgia and other Republican-run states that are currently developing election integrity laws is the voter ID requirement. About every Democrat from Biden to Stacey Abrams to Elizabeth Warren blasts voter ID requirements as “the new Jim Crow,” disingenuously asserting that it’s voter suppression. But as political analyst Rich Lowry notes, the “voter suppression” claims constitute an outright lie.

The great irony is that by continuing to object to this common sense and near ubiquitous reality of everyday life in America, Democrats are projecting the very racist stereotypes of black Americans they claim to be fighting against. Furthermore, nearly 70% of black Americans support voter ID laws. So, who is it that’s living with the Jim Crow mindset?

As conservative commentator Cabot Phillips observes, “What could be more patronizing than having a 78 year old white man imply that by virtue of your black skin, you are somehow less capable of carrying an ID? There’s a message being sent there, and it isn’t one of empowerment.”

Speaking of voter suppression, there is indeed a current and aggressive attempt at it, and it’s coming from Washington. It’s the Democrats’ HR 1 voting “reform” bill. Not only would HR 1 eliminate voter ID laws, but it’s an affront to federalism. As our own Louis DeBroux notes, “Democrats aim to dictate from Capitol Hill election law for every single state, county, and city. HR 1 intentionally weakens election security, creating the very lawlessness and discord that made the last election such a nightmare and guaranteeing that it’s the norm for all future elections.”

As far as a constitutional challenge to HR 1, Article 1, Section 4 stipulates, “The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of choosing Senators.” That may be construed to allow Congress to step all over the rights of states to determine their election process.

Far from moving to prevent election fraud, HR 1 would simply codify it, ensuring that Americans will have no means to check or trust the legitimacy of any future election results. The Democrats’ enabling of voter fraud through bulk-mail ballots in particular actually serves to disenfranchise legitimate voters by offsetting their ballots with fraudulent ones.

As was the case in the past with Jim Crow (a Democrat creation), today’s Democrats are similarly working to suppress the ability of Republicans to win elections. Indeed, Democrats seek to suppress the political voice of anyone with whom they disagree.