Is The “For The People Act” Really For The People?
“Elections are the heart of democracy. They are the instrument for the people to choose leaders and hold them accountable. At the same time, elections are a core public function upon which all other government responsibilities depend. If elections are defective, the entire democratic system is at risk.” President Jimmy Carter and James Baker, co-chairs of the bi-partisan Commission on Federal Election Reform, made these comments introducing the Commission’s 2005 “Building Confidence in Federal Elections” report.1
Last week, H.R. 1, the “For the People Act” was passed through the U. S. House of Representatives, along strict party lines. One Democrat, Bennie Thompson of MS, joined all Republicans in voting against it. It has now been taken up by the Senate and will likely come up for a vote this week. H.R.1 is designed almost completely opposite of the 2005 Commission’s recommendations. Elections will never look the same if it passes into law. We’ll take a look at why I say this. I also want to mention the ways this piece of legislation can be stopped. And it MUST be stopped.
On November 18, 2020, Kay Cole James, President of the conservative Heritage Foundation, said, “Our right to vote has been won and preserved by the lives, blood and sacrifice of the patriots of the American Revolution, our war veterans, the suffragists, civil rights marchers and so many others throughout our history. They risked everything so that you and I could freely exercise this sacred right and ensure the very survival of our republic. The least we can do is make sure their sacrifices weren’t in vain and work to ensure the integrity of our elections.
James continues, “Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of our constitutional republic, and every citizen, no matter their political persuasion, must be able to trust the voting process and its results, otherwise, our democratic system itself breaks down.
“I was a member of the Commission on Federal Election Reform…” she states. “We investigated the problems and vulnerabilities in our election system and made an extensive series of recommendations for reforms. Some of those recommendations were:
- The commission recommended that states do electronic matching with their own death records, drivers’ licenses, local tax rolls and other records…to remove people who had moved out of state or died.
- The commission said states should implement a voter identification requirement to ensure that people presenting themselves at the polling place match the registration list.
- The commission also stressed the importance of verifying that only citizens are voting, recommending that states obtain proof of citizenship before registering voters. Yet, the left has consistently opposed such efforts. Because many states aren’t verifying, noncitizens can vote with little chance of being detected.
- Simple protections, like voter ID and updated voter registration lists, make perfect sense if we truly believe that every vote must count. Congress and the states have a duty to ensure that all eligible Americans are able to vote and that their votes aren’t stolen or diluted by fraud or administrative errors.
- Officials should look at the commission’s recommendations and ensure they’re doing everything possible to protect the integrity of our elections—one of the most sacred trusts of our republic.” 2
On last Thursday’s edition of SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Daily with host Alex Marlow, Congressman Mo Brooks said:
“[H.R.1 is] going to be massive voter fraud.” “In short, the Democrats have ignored and undermined the Commission on the Federal Election Reform report done in 2005 — a bipartisan commission report by Jimmy Carter on the one hand and James Baker on the other hand — and have expanded the very worst of the things that the report said we needed to avoid.”3
The Boston Herald called the Bill, “A blatant power grab for Democrats.”4
The Heritage Foundation provides some insight and explanation on some of the more concerning matters in H.R.15:
- H.R.1 nationalizes voting laws. This may actually be unconstitutional.
- Voter registration will be automatic for anyone who obtains a driver’s license, applies for food stamps, Medicaid, or other public assistance, or enrolls in a public college. Non-citizens are supposed to identify themselves, but if they don’t speak up, they will be registered to vote. There is no penalty should this occur.
- Add to this that there will be a ban, yes, a ban, on requiring voter I.D. to vote. This is a Federal mandate and would override the states’ individual laws.
- Absentee and mail-in ballots will be mandatory, although individuals may choose to vote in person. Mail-in ballots were the problem in the 2020 election. Additionally, they can be received by states up to 10 days after election day, provided they are postmarked by election day.
- Ballot harvesting, or volunteers assisting other voters to properly complete their ballots, then making sure the ballots are turned in will be legalized.This is another practice that is being highly scrutinized in recent elections. This is currently illegal in a number of states and individuals participating in it have gone to prison over it. It’s that important.
- There are also limitations on freedom of speech regarding elections, complete with a 5 member panel tasked with monitoring ads for “wrong speech.” This panel will be appointed by and answer to the president. This is partisanship at its absolute worst. You can read more about freedom of speech violations in H.R. 1 here.
Jumping back to the Commission’s report, Kay James further stated, “The ultimate test of an election system is its ability to withstand intense public scrutiny during a very close election.”5 It is very clear now that was not the case in the 2020 election. Scrutiny was actively blocked from the local level to the U. S. Supreme Court.
Nevertheless, some states, such as Michigan, have continued their investigations into whether fraud was committed in the election. You can read about that here. While it may not reverse the 2020 results, state and local officials have been hopeful that reforms can be put in place to prevent the fiasco we had this past November.
In this frontal attack against future free and fair elections, the Democratic party, through H.R.1, is now seeking to institutionalize some of the tactics used in this past election. The contents of this resolution fly directly in the face of the Commission’s findings and recommendations. State laws and efforts are also clearly being undermined. Since federal law trumps state laws, if this is made the law of the land, the voices of citizens in some states will no longer be heard. (Click here to learn about The Supremacy Clause and the Doctrine of Preemption, which explains how federal law is supreme.)
So, what can be done?
- We will pray, of course.
- Contact your U.S. Senators. Click here to find them. Don’t worry about their political party. Let them know you are not okay with H.R.1 and you want them to vote no on it. If there is a deluge of voices against it, your Senators may listen, especially if they are in politically divided states.
- Conservative Senators can filibuster – encourage them to do this! Pray that Democrats do not eliminate the filibuster, which they have been threatening. Let your Senators also know you are not okay with that. Filibustering is a way to stall a vote or stop legislation from passing. It is sometimes used to gain concessions. In the case of H.R.1, we want it to kill this bill that is bad for America. A filibuster works by extending debate indefinitely on a bill or resolution, and requires a ⅗ vote of the Senate – 60 votes – to end the filibuster (versus a simple majority).
We must not hand this nation over to the radical agenda of the left. Let’s do whatever we can to honor our godly heritage and stop these actions.
“The Lord God has told us what is right and what he demands: ‘See that justice is done, let mercy be your first concern, and humbly obey your God.’” (Micah 6:8, CEV)
Pray with me:
God of justice and righteousness, we come to You today. We exalt Your holy Name over America. You who established this nation are worthy of all of our thanksgiving and praise. We will encourage ourselves in knowing that You care more about this country than we do. You have a plan and purpose. You said America will be saved, and we align ourselves with You in intercession for it. Father, flood America with Your grace and mercy!
Our government is on a very quick and steady slide away from You politically. Those that are power hungry are on a warpath to make sure their plans are not thwarted. But we know You can stop them. You will deliver us. We are asking You to prevent this resolution from passing. There are some things we can recover from more quickly, others that take a while to turn around. This one would be hard to recover from. We are asking You to intervene. Save us from the political pride and arrogance, endeavoring to take over this nation.
We agree with Kay James. From the American Revolution, through other wars we have fought, to the freedom marches for civil rights and votes for women, our freedom and right to vote has been costly. The sacred right to cast a vote and know our Republic is secure in the people’s choices is one of the bedrocks of our free society. Lord, let all of those sacrifices be honored today. We cry out to You for salvation in this matter, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Today’s decree:
God’s dream will be honored. America’s right to free and fair elections WILL BE preserved.
1 https://web.archive.org/web/20070609115256/http://www.american.edu/ia/cfer/report/full_report.pdf
4 https://www.bostonherald.com/2021/03/07/pelosis-hr1-bill-a-blatant-power-grab-for-democrats/5 https://www.heritage.org/election-integrity/report/the-facts-about-hr-1-the-the-people-act-2021