Just a quick note on the recent edits to this post that occurred at the prompting of a trusted and close friend of mine. My original post was written with an “edgy” vibe to add some shock value to the post. As a result, my article was written with sarcasm and an ad hominem stance towards the politicians I believe to be corrupt. Since this method of writing is not in my norm, I decided to remove these “edgy” pieces to provide a more neutral position and out of respect for your right to free-will. Please note this change was not coerced in anyway by any “dark” forces.
Have you heard about the bill being introduced into Congress right now? The bill, known as H.R. 1, is called “For the People Act of 2021” and is cause for concern considering that the legislation could be ripe for abuse.
The Bill’s Introductory Statement – The first paragraph of the bill lays it out fairly well in terms of explaining what the bill is about:
“To expand Americans’ access to the ballot box, reduce the influence of big money in politics, strengthen ethics rules for public servants, and implement other anti-corruption measures for the purpose of fortifying our democracy, and for other purposes.”
A very interesting opening statement so let’s break it down real quick – they want to expand our access to the ballot box, first and foremost, so far so good. However, if you move on to “reduc[ing] the influence of big money in politics,” the issues begin. Joe Biden received $145 million dollars in anonymous donations to his campaign that undoubtedly helped him get into the White House.¹
Furthermore, records state that billions of dollars are contributed by corporations that go to Congress’ various campaigns and to lobby² hopefully to influence government policy and laws. Next, the statement goes on to say that the bill seeks to, “strengthen ethics rules for public servants, and implement other anti-corruption measures for the purpose of fortifying our democracy….” However, when you look at the federal legislation of the United States historically, you’ll see that a lot of the fortifying of this democracy was actually in several bills that strengthen the corporations’ power.
Details of H.R. 1 – Let’s get into the real heart of the bill. Basically, it wants to open up the internet to voter registration. In addition, the bill also seeks to strengthen the ability to vote by mail, going as far as paying for the return postage. ³
Online Voter Registration – The past presidential election this November was littered with calls of voter fraud including accusations of votes being cast by illegal and deceased voters. Despite these complaints and evidence of potential fraud, Congress wants to allow people to register to vote on the internet, including the ability to both complete and submit the voter registration online (Sec 1002). ³
As many people know, the internet is full of fraud and identity theft, not to mention LARPing at every possible turn where there is any dissent against the government. The point here is this: the potential for abuse of online voter registration should be a major concern to everyone as history has shown us that voter registration fraud is a very real thing.
Automatic Voter Registration – The bill further ups the ante by requiring states to maintain a system of automatic voter registration in Federal elections for all eligible individuals. The most likely way for this to be accomplished would be through a government entity, like the DMV [Department of Motor Vehicles], who’d be required to send their customer’s information to the state election officials for the purpose of automatic voter registration, if that customer is eligible to vote in federal elections.
The bill does state that the individual can decline automatic registration if they want, albeit in writing. Then, even more shocking to me is that the automatic registration requirement would also include individuals under the age of 18, as long as they are at least 16 at the time of the automatic voter registration (Sec 1012 & 1094). ³ Again, the potential for abuse of millions of automatic voter registrations for people who have never desired to vote or hadn’t even thought about voting is cause for concern.
These changes are concerning enough on their own when you consider the accusations that have been made about election fraud in this past election. Right-wing activists have stated, time and time again, that mail-in ballots are dangerous to the very fabric of fundamental values instilled in this Constitutional Republic.
Furthermore, the voter legislation, that was passed under the guise of protecting the public from COVID-19, allowed for potential voter fraud in this past election. For example, several state legislatures allowed looser rules regarding absentee, early, and extended voting, if you can believe that. In some cases, states allowed mail-in ballots 3 days after the election, even granted the postmark was within 3 days AFTER the election. Utah allowed absentee ballots to be received as many as 2 weeks after the election⁴.
The bottom line is that H.R. Bill 1, For the People Act of 2021, could potentially be the piece of legislation that unravels democracy in the United States.
In love and light,
Quinn
References:
(1) Henney, M. (2021, January 26). Biden’s White House victory fueled by record-shattering $145M in ‘dark money,’ report says. Fox News. Retrieved from https://www.foxnews.com/politics/bidens-white-house-victory-fueled-by-record-shattering-145m-in-dark-money-report-says
(2) Wilson, M. (2020, January 24). Lobbying spending in 2019 reached second highest point of decade. Bloomberg Government. Retrieved from https://about.bgov.com/news/lobbying-spending-in-2019-reached-second-highest-point-of-decade/#:~:text=Top%20Corporate&text=following%20close%20behind%2C%20spending%20%2416.1,to%20%249.5%20million%20in%202018.
(3) For the People Act of 2021, H.R. 1, 117th Cong. (2021). Retrieved from https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1/text#toc-H0C72CA940E684A0986583236950CC71E
(4) Absentee and Mail Voting Policies in Effect for the 2020 Election (2020, November 3). Retrieved from https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/absentee-and-mail-voting-policies-in-effect-for-the-2020-election.aspx