Republican Spin on Democrats’ Voting Bill
In the days leading up to the Senate vote on the House-passed elections bill, Republicans offered several misleading talking points about the Democratic bill, and made other statements that required more context.
- Republicans said the bill would direct taxpayer money to publicly finance federal campaigns. The matching campaign money would come from a new surcharge added to certain criminal fines and civil settlements involving corporate defendants and their executive officers.
- Republicans said the bill creates a “speech czar” who would limit the free speech of campaigns. The bill proposes to break the current bipartisan split on the Federal Elections Commission board, and allow the president to appoint a tie-breaking chairman. But one election expert said that’s more akin to a “campaign finance czar” than a “speech czar.”
- Republicans said it would “ban” or “repeal” state voter ID laws. The proposed law would allow states to keep voter ID laws, but it would allow voters without ID in states that require voter identification to provide a sworn written statement attesting to their identity and eligibility.
- House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy warned the bill’s call for automatic voter registration through state motor vehicle agencies is the kind of thing that led to “multiple cases of fraud” in California. A few Californians were erroneously registered “due to DMV errors” and voted in the 2018 elections, but none were charged with voter fraud.
, the For the People Act, on March 3 on an almost to vote against the bill was Rep. Bennie Thompson.) It seeks to expand access to voting and make major changes to campaign finance and redistricting laws.
