Freshman Congressman Byron Donalds spoke on the House floor today decrying a new Democrat election bill the House will be voting on today, saying it is designed to “eviscerate state election laws around the country”:
H.R. 1 would eviscerate state election laws around the country, including in my state of Florida. The Democrats are all about imposing the federal government's hand in everyone's life, which needs to end, especially in our election system.
Don't D.C. my Florida.
Floor speech:⬇️ pic.twitter.com/jk08PpG8f6
— Congressman Byron Donalds (@RepDonaldsPress) March 3, 2021
Donalds doesn’t pull any punches, saying the “For the People Act” is really just a takeover of elections by Washington DC.
After having gone through the 790 page bill, Donalds says much of it would ‘eviscerate Florida’s election laws’, which he contends is the best in the nation, and says Democrats are trying to destroy it.
Indeed, Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney from New York also opposes the bill, calling it a recipe for disaster:
First, H.R. 1 would prevent election officials from maintaining accurate voter lists and make it harder for them to determine if voters are registered in multiple jurisdictions. This increases the likelihood that voter rolls are outdated and inaccurate or contain ineligible voters.
Second, the bill would dramatically expand automatic voter registration. People who never even provide their consent could be added to voter rolls. H.R. 1 goes so far as designating colleges as automatic voter registration agencies and making it easier to harvest ballots.
Third, H.R. 1 would make same-day voter registration the national standard. Ballots would be cast and counted before officials even have time to verify a voter is eligible or the information provided by them is accurate. The majority of states do not have same-day voter registration, but H.R. 1 would overrule them and mandate it anyway.
The bill would also prohibit commonsense voter ID rules, require no-excuse absentee and early voting, permit felons to vote, and allow people to vote at the wrong polling place.
H.R. 1 is a recipe for disaster. I would know, having prevailed recently in the race for New York’s 22nd District after an exhaustive count that went on for nearly 100 days. In the run up to the 2020 election, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo rushed through a series of executive orders that mirrored some of the exact policies now proposed in H.R. 1. The result in the 22nd District was one of the most poorly run elections in the country.
Democrats abused the electoral systems in many states this last round because of the pandemic, and knowing they likely won’t have the same circumstances in ’22 and ’24, they are trying to give themselves the upper hand now with this monstrosity.
If this passes the House, which seems likely, it will then go to the Senate. Hopefully Manchin, Sinema, and the filibuster will prevent this bill from ever getting to Biden’s desk.