The Democrats’ desperate gamble that by holding up the coronavirus relief bill they can extort political concessions that will guarantee them victory in the November 2020 election must not be allowed to succeed.
Pelosi and Schumer are holding up relief for millions of working Americans, their small business employers and essential industries, such as airlines and aircraft manufacturers, on the premise that Republicans will cave and give them the tools to steal the next election.
And make no mistake about it – defeating Trump and seizing control of the government is what Democrats eat, sleep and breath.
Here are some of the key provisions they want in return for getting out of the way on the Wuhan virus relief bill:
Sec. 321 Early Voting
Each State shall allow individuals to vote in an election for Federal office during an early voting period which occurs prior to the date of the election, in the same manner as voting is allowed on such date.
And:
The early voting period required under this subsection with respect to an election shall consist of a period of consecutive days (including weekends) which begins on the 15th day before the date of the election (or, at the option of the State, on a day prior to the 15th day before the date of the election) and ends on the date of the election.
Section 324 Prohibiting States from Requiring Applicants to Provide More Than the Last 4 Digits of Social Security Number [to obtain ballot]
The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20504(c)(2)(B)(ii)) is amended by striking the semicolon at the end and inserting the following: ‘‘, and to the extent that the application requires the applicant to provide a Social Security number, may not require the applicant to provide more than the last 4 digits of such number;’’.
Sec. 325 Same Day Registration
Each State shall permit any eligible individual on the day of a Federal election and on any day when voting, including early voting, is permitted for a Federal election to register to vote in such election at the polling place using a form that meets the requirements under section 9(b) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (or, if the individual is already registered to vote, to revise any of the individual’s voter registration information); and to cast a vote in such election.
SEC. 120007. Accommodations for Voters Residing in Indian Lands
Mandates “ballot harvesting” be allowed on Indian Reservations
Other election-related provisions:
Mail-in ballots must be sent automatically to all registered voters
States are mandated to pre-pay the postage on absentee ballots and balloting materials.
Political parties receive a bailout in the form of payments to cover the cost of mailing primary voting materials.
Creation of a new auditing entity with the power to review and conduct “risk-limiting audits of the results of elections that it determines have an “incorrect” outcome.
Allows “ballot harvesting” by allowing anyone “designated by the voter” to turn a ballot in on his or her behalf and prohibiting the states from imposing any additional conditions or requirements on the eligibility of the individual to cast the vote by absentee ballot by mail, including— ‘‘(A) requiring any form of identification as a condition of obtaining the absentee ballot; or ‘‘(B) requiring notarization or witness signature or other formal authentication (other than voter attestation) as a condition of the acceptance of the ballot by an election official.
And if there’s a discrepancy between a voter’s signature and the signature on a ballot, election officials must chase down voters and give them an opportunity to cure the fault. The bill also requires a minimum of two officials to pronounce the signature non-matching – and only people who have “received training in procedures used to verify signatures” can make such a determination.
As Rep. Andy Harris, a physician who represents Maryland’s First Congressional District tweeted:
No voter ID to get a ballot, and anonymous “ballot harvesting”…why is that hidden in Speaker Pelosi’s coronavirus bill? These are issues that shouldn’t be addressed at this time.
The highly respected J.E. Dyer summed-up Pelosi’s intentions this way in a post for Liberty Unyielding, “Between now and November, the potential political uses of this legislation to sow an atmosphere of uncertainty, dispute, and missed deadlines are endless.” We agree and reiterate our opening point: Democrats are in a desperate gamble to seize control of the government and are playing for all the chips, Republicans, starting with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and President Donald Trump must recognize what is going on and never allow it to happen.
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Background Photo “Nancy Pelosi Press Conference” by Nancy Pelosi.
