“Every single American should be outraged” by the Democrat-led House passing H.R. 1, or the “For the People Act,” Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) said Wednesday evening.
“Democrats just voted to ban voter ID nationwide and force every state to permanently expand mail-in voting,” he explained following the bill’s passage, which was praised by congressional Democrats:
The House passed the bill Wednesday evening on party lines, prompting praise from Vice President Kamala Harris, who said she looks forward to “working with Congress to strengthen our democracy and protect the voting rights of all Americans.”:
Hours prior to passage, 20 state attorneys general sent a letter to House and Senate leadership, warning of the unconstitutionality of the measure. The act essentially strips states of their power in conducting federal elections by imposing limits on how states maintain their voter registration rolls and overriding state ID laws.
“Additionally, the Act’s regulation of congressional elections, including by mandating mail-in voting, requiring states to accept late ballots, overriding state voter identification (“ID”) laws, and mandating that states conduct redistricting through unelected commissions, also faces severe constitutional hurdles,” they warned, identifying the act’s limitations on voter ID laws as “perhaps” the “most egregious” portion of the measure.
Ultimately, state leaders said the act takes “a one-sided approach to governing and usurps states’ authority over elections” — a fact they believe will not instill confidence in the elections moving forward.
“Around the nation, the 2020 general elections generated mass confusion and distrust—problems that the Act would only exacerbate,” they wrote, warning that they will “seek legal remedies to protect the Constitution, the sovereignty of all states, our elections, and the rights of our citizens,” in the event of the bill becoming law.