Democrats try to grab power through election 'reform' legislation

Democratic election "reform" efforts are framed as an urgent priority to save America from devious state lawmakers, but, in reality, they are part of a political power grab to federalize elections.    

Democratic leaders deride state election integrity efforts while ignoring the 65% of Americans who want to strengthen election safeguards. These state laws don't decrease minority turnout, which has been surging in recent years, and overall voter turnout reached record levels in 2020.    

Bills passed in Texas, Georgia and other states are designed to improve elections by expanding early voting and streamlining procedures around absentee ballots and drop boxes, while ensuring that every vote is legal and that results are reliable and delivered in a timely manner. That builds confidence in democracy and encourages citizens to vote. Criticism of these laws is heavy on hyperbole and light on substance.   

In reality, these states have given citizens more opportunities to vote than they would have in many Democratic bastions. For example, Georgia now has more early voting days than New York, New Jersey or President Joe Biden’s home state of Delaware.   

A federal takeover would replace popular provisions with one-size-fits-none policies. Voter ID requirements in about 35 states would be gutted even though 80% of voters back requiring an ID to vote – including large majorities of minority voters, effectively rebuking dishonest wails of “racism” and “voter suppression.”   

A 2021 study published by the Oxford Quarterly Journal of Economics discovered voter ID had "no negative effect on registration or turnout … for any group defined by race, gender, age, or party affiliation."    

Democrats want to replace popular policies like voter ID with a left-wing wish list of flawed policies. Under legislation backed by Democrats, Americans would likely be stuck with unpopular provisions, including taxpayer funding of political campaigns; same-day registration, which 58% of deep blue New York voters rejected; and legalized ballot trafficking that might have fraudulently swung elections in California and North Carolina.   

As for suspending the filibuster to pass this power grab, that’s not going to happen. Two-thirds of West Virginia voters support Sen. Joe Manchin’s opposition to doing so. 

Democrats want to pass unneeded policies that would make elections tough to run and vulnerable to fraud. The states are doing what the American people want: making it easy to vote and hard to cheat.  

Jason Snead is executive director of the Honest Elections Project, which supports election integrity efforts in several states.