A federal appeals court ruled against <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/mississippi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mississippi’s</a> permanent voting ban for certain felons, going against Supreme Court precedent in doing so.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last month that the Mississippi Constitution’s lifetime voting ban for felons convicted of certain crimes violates the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
The Mississippi Constitution revokes an individual’s right to vote permanently if they receive a felony conviction for <a href="https://advance.lexis.com/documentpage/?pdmfid=1000516&amp;crid=c71663b9-9b85-4977-b69d-2737c5b5bc1c&amp;nodeid=AABAAOAAC&amp;nodepath=/ROOT/AAB/AABAAO/AABAAOAAC&amp;level=3&amp;haschildren=&amp;populated=false&amp;title=%25C2%25A7+241.+Qualifications+for+electors.&amp;config=00JABiMjA5NGUwNy0wZjYwLTQxNzMtOTUyYi1jMzk5YjAxYjNhYTQKAFBvZENhdGFsb2eQw0EiFEVosveh1rcBQAz6&amp;pddocfullpath=/shared/document/statutes-legislation/urn:contentItem:8PFV-60S2-D6RV-H20T-00008-00&amp;ecomp=7gf5kkk&amp;prid=a50cec77-a99d-4582-abff-67e04facc6f4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">crimes</a> including arson, bigamy, bribery, embezzlement, forgery, murder, obtaining money or goods under false pretense, perjury, rape, or theft, as well as those crimes the Mississippi attorney general determines fall under those explicit categories, such as armed robbery and timber larceny.
The case decided on by the court last month, <a href="https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca5/19-60678/19-60678-2023-08-04.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hopkins v. Hosemann</a>, was initiated by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and the law firm Simpson Thatcher &amp; Bartlett in 2018.
Judge James Dennis ruled that Mississippi’s continuation of its lifetime ban on certain felons went against progress by “bucking a clear and consistent trend” in the country modeled by the 35 states and the District of Columbia that gave up permanent felon voting bans over the years.
Dennis further declared that Mississippi’s permanent ban “serves no legitimate penological purpose” and thwarts proper rehabilitation.
“By severing former offenders from the body politic forever, [Mississippi] ensures that they will never be fully rehabilitated, continues to punish them beyond the term their culpability requires, and serves no protective function to society,” stated Dennis. “It is thus a cruel and unusual punishment.”
Judge Edith Jones countered in a dissenting opinion that the majority ruling itself contradicted the Constitution and reflected judicial activism.
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Section Two of the Fourteenth Amendment <a href="https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/14th-amendment%23:~:text=Section%25202.,State,%2520excluding%2520Indians%2520not%2520taxed." target="_blank" rel="noopener">allows</a> states to deprive citizens of the right to vote for either “participation in rebellion, or other crime.” Jones declared that this provision expressly allows for lifetime voting bans for felons.
“The carve-out reflects a long tradition in this country, and before that, in British law, and before that, in the Western world,” said Jones. “This tradition can be summed up in Lockean terms: if a person breaks a law, he has forfeited the right to participate in making them.”
Jones also cited the Supreme Court precedent set in the 1974 case Richardson v. Ramirez, which determined that felon voting bans don’t violate the Equal Protection Clause. In that case, the court ruled that the question of handling voting rights for felons should be hashed out in a legislative forum, and that it wasn’t for their court to “choose one set of values over another.”
“[G]o and convince the state legislatures. Do the hard work of persuading your fellow citizens that the law should change,” said Jones. “[T]he court turns that advice on its head. No need to change the law through a laborious political process. The court will do it for you, so long as you rely on the Due Process Clause, rather than the Equal Protection Clause.”
The five felons who sued for the right to vote were Dennis Hopkins, Herman Parker, Walter Wayne Kuhn Jr, Bryon Demond Coleman, Jon O’Neal, and Earnest Willhite. Hopkins, Parker, Kuhn, and Willhite were convicted of <a href="https://advance.lexis.com/documentpage/?pdmfid=1000516&amp;crid=e6805b47-997f-4320-80b5-1981477d5b8a&amp;nodeid=ABYAAJAABAAW&amp;nodepath=/ROOT/ABY/ABYAAJ/ABYAAJAAB/ABYAAJAABAAW&amp;level=4&amp;haschildren=&amp;populated=false&amp;title=%25C2%25A7+97-17-41.+Grand+larceny;+felonious+taking+of+personal+property;+felonious+taking+of+property+of+established+place+of+worship;+penalties.&amp;config=00JABhZDIzMTViZS04NjcxLTQ1MDItOTllOS03MDg0ZTQxYzU4ZTQKAFBvZENhdGFsb2f8inKxYiqNVSihJeNKRlUp&amp;pddocfullpath=/shared/document/statutes-legislation/urn:contentItem:8P6B-8B52-8T6X-73J0-00008-00&amp;ecomp=7gf5kkk&amp;prid=377ab010-0d38-4cdd-b976-d7791c69315c">grand larceny</a>; Coleman was convicted of <a href="https://advance.lexis.com/documentpage/?pdmfid=1000516&amp;crid=d81c4742-9466-4750-8b96-36d5f6e707ed&amp;nodeid=ABYAAJAABABR&amp;nodepath=/ROOT/ABY/ABYAAJ/ABYAAJAAB/ABYAAJAABABR&amp;level=4&amp;haschildren=&amp;populated=false&amp;title=%25C2%25A7+97-17-70.+Receiving+stolen+property;+dual+charges+of+both+stealing+and+receiving+same+property+not+to+be+brought+against+single+defendant+in+same+jurisdiction;+penalties.&amp;config=00JABhZDIzMTViZS04NjcxLTQ1MDItOTllOS03MDg0ZTQxYzU4ZTQKAFBvZENhdGFsb2f8inKxYiqNVSihJeNKRlUp&amp;pddocfullpath=/shared/document/statutes-legislation/urn:contentItem:8P6B-8B52-8T6X-73JR-00008-00&amp;ecomp=7gf5kkk&amp;prid=377ab010-0d38-4cdd-b976-d7791c69315c">receiving stolen property</a>; and O’Neal was convicted of <a href="https://advance.lexis.com/documentpage/?pdmfid=1000516&amp;crid=68b33329-1635-4df1-a520-52925a49f30c&amp;nodeid=ABYAAJAABAAE&amp;nodepath=/ROOT/ABY/ABYAAJ/ABYAAJAAB/ABYAAJAABAAE&amp;level=4&amp;haschildren=&amp;populated=false&amp;title=%25C2%25A7+97-17-5.+Arson;+second+degree;+other+buildings+or+structures.&amp;config=00JABhZDIzMTViZS04NjcxLTQ1MDItOTllOS03MDg0ZTQxYzU4ZTQKAFBvZENhdGFsb2f8inKxYiqNVSihJeNKRlUp&amp;pddocfullpath=/shared/document/statutes-legislation/urn:contentItem:8P6B-8B52-8T6X-73HB-00008-00&amp;ecomp=7gf5kkk&amp;prid=377ab010-0d38-4cdd-b976-d7791c69315c">second degree arson</a>. All have completed their sentences.
Mississippi does offer a slim chance for voting rights restoration: the legislature may pass a bill to restore a particular individual’s voting rights, referred to as a “suffrage bill.”
In response to the ruling, Mississippi requested an en banc rehearing. Court of appeals hearings normally consist of three justices; with this request, all justices of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals would hear the case.

Voting

Federal Court Strikes Down Felony Voting Ban As ‘Cruel And Unusual Punishment’ In Unprecedented Ruling

Felony

General

Mississippi

U.S.

Voting Rights

President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> promised to sign a law preventing the city of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/washington-d-c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Washington D.C.</a> from overhauling its crime and voting laws.
The Washington, D.C., city council passed a bill to overhaul the city&#8217;s criminal code, and another one allowing non-citizens to vote in local elections. But the House of Representatives passed two resolutions blocking those bills from becoming law, and the Senate is expected to vote on them as early as next week. Biden said Thursday that he would sign the bills if passed.
According to <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/03/02/1160662044/president-biden-will-allow-congress-to-overturn-new-dc-crime-law" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NPR</a>, Biden reportedly told Senate Democrats during a closed-door meeting Thursday that he would not veto the bills, which are expected to pass with bipartisan support. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) confirmed the decision to reporters after the meeting.
Biden confirmed the news himself on Twitter. &#8220;I support D.C. Statehood and home-rule – but I don’t support some of the changes D.C. Council put forward over the Mayor’s objections – such as lowering penalties for carjackings,&#8221; Biden <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1631392285182009376" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a> from the official Presidential Twitter account. &#8220;If the Senate votes to overturn what D.C. Council did – I’ll sign it.&#8221;
The Senate is expected to vote on the bills as soon as next week. Two Democrats, Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Bob Casey (D-PA), have already expressed support for the bills. With Casey&#8217;s Pennsylvania colleague, John Fetterman, out for an extended period of time with health problems, the Democrats do not seem to have the votes to stop the resolutions from passing, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/02/biden-wont-veto-gop-effort-to-repeal-dc-criminal-code-00085247" target="_blank" rel="noopener">POLITICO</a> reported, adding that with Biden signaling his support for the measures, they could earn more Democratic votes by the time they reach the floor. The bills require a simple majority to pass, and cannot be filibustered.
The House of Representatives passed a resolution to block the D.C. legislation allowing non-citizens to vote in local elections from becoming law on February 9. Some 42 Democrats joined Republicans, and the vote passed 260-162. Another resolution blocking the city from overhauling its criminal code passed 250-173, with the support of 31 Democrats.
D.C. city officials passed the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/non-citizens-allowed-to-vote-in-local-washington-d-c-elections-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act</a> on its first reading last year, which Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser allowed to pass without her signature, as she refused to veto the legislation. Washington, D.C., city councilmember Charles Allen introduced the bill in October 2020, arguing that it aligns with the chamber’s values and history of expanding voting rights.
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The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/republican-led-house-moves-to-stop-d-c-s-illegal-immigrant-voting-plan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">other bill</a>, the one overhauling D.C.’s century-old criminal code, would not take effect until October 2025. While proponents argue the overhaul updates and improves an outdated system, critics warn it would embolden wrongdoers by reducing the penalties for certain crimes. Among other changes, the bill would reduce maximum penalties for violent crimes such as carjacking, and expand the rights to jury trials for misdemeanor offenses.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser vetoed the criminal code changes, but the D.C. Council voted to override the veto. Bowser then proposed targeted alterations to the revised code, including restoring maximum penalties for gun crimes and carjackings, as well as delaying its implementation to 2027, per NBC Washington.
Under the Home Rule Act of 1973, Congress is allowed to overrule legislation passed by the D.C. city council before it becomes law.
Brandon Drey and Daniel Chaitin contributed to this report.

President Biden Departs White House

Biden Says He Will Sign Bills Blocking D.C.’s Radical Overhaul Of Voting Rights Criminal Code

Biden Says He Will Sign Bills To Stop D.C. From Overhauling Criminal Code, Letting Non-Citizens Vote

Congress

Crime

Joe Biden

Senate

Washington D.C.

Non-citizens who have resided in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/washington-d-c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Washington, D.C.</a>, for at least 30 days can now vote in local city elections after the review period for a newly passed bill allowing such votes to occur ended last week, according to local media.
D.C. city officials passed the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act on its first reading last year, which Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser allowed to pass without her signature, as she refused to veto the legislation. However, acts of the city council are subject to congressional review due to the district residing in the federal territory.
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill had 30 session days to object to the legislation, with the House voting to stop the bill from taking effect, WAMU reported. However, the Senate ran out of time before the review period ended.
The new law still has to secure approximately $1.6 million in funding to create the new voter registry for non-citizens, WAMU reported, adding that Congress still has options to block the measure, specifically by prohibiting D.C. officials from spending money on it taking effect.
Washington, D.C., city council member Charles Allen introduced the bill in October 2020, arguing that it aligns with the chamber&#8217;s values and history of expanding voting rights.
&#8220;Our immigrant neighbors of all statuses participate, contribute, and care about our community in our city,&#8221; Allen said at the time of the vote.
During the passing last year, the bill&#8217;s lead sponsor, Councilmember Brianne Nadeau, bragged how she &#8220;championed expanding voting rights so that those who have made the District their home have the right for their voices to be heard in our local issues, no matter their immigration status.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/d-c-s-new-voters-aliens-and-diplomats-muriel-bowser-mayoral-elections-11669237497" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Wall Street Journal</a> editorial board argued in a November 23 piece that the bill extends local voting rights to illegal immigrants and foreign diplomats:
<blockquote>It reads like a bad parody of progressive decadence. Try to imagine American diplomatic personnel showing up to cast ballots for the mayor of Beijing or Moscow. Beyond that, the standard objections to noncitizen voting apply. It weakens the incentive to naturalize. Only U.S. citizens can vote in federal races, so including noncitizens in local races would force election officials to manage two voter lists and two sets of ballots. It’s begging for a fiasco.</blockquote>
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The move comes after Biden administration officials have claimed they are working to make Washington, D.C., the 51st state of the Union and give the city autonomy to govern its local affairs.
House Republicans passed a resolution to block the law from taking effect with the support of 42 Democrats.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/republican-led-house-moves-to-stop-d-c-s-illegal-immigrant-voting-plan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">introduced</a> the D.C. voting resolution and previously warned that such &#8220;misguided efforts would allow crime to run rampant and disenfranchise American citizens in our nation&#8217;s capital.&#8221;
&#8220;Voting is a pillar of American democracy and a constitutional right that undeniably needs to be protected and preserved for citizens of this country,&#8221; Comer said in a statement to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/washington-dc-city-council-bill-allowing-noncitizens-vote-law?intcmp=tw_fnc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox News</a>. &#8220;The D.C. Council&#8217;s reckless decision to allow non-U.S. citizens and illegal immigrants the right to vote in local elections is an attack on the foundation of this republic.&#8221;
Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) assailed Republicans in Congress for introducing &#8220;undemocratic&#8221; and &#8220;paternalistic&#8221; resolutions to overrule the D.C. Council.
&#8220;Instead of abusing its power over D.C. by nullifying legislation enacted by the D.C. Council, the House should adhere to democratic principles and pass my D.C. statehood bill, which would give D.C. residents voting representation in Congress and full control over their local affairs,&#8221; Norton said in prepared remarks.
During a speech, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) accused her GOP colleagues of &#8220;expanding&#8221; their support of disenfranchisement in the &#8220;overwhelmingly black city,&#8221; pointing out how Republicans already oppose D.C. statehood.
&#8220;The D.C. City Council has the right to determine its policies for D.C. residents,&#8221; she said. &#8220;And if any member of this body does not like that, they can feel free to change their registration, resign their post and run for D.C. City Council.&#8221;
In January, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced a bill to stop non-citizens from voting in local elections in Washington, D.C., saying that allowing non-citizens and illegal immigrants to exercise voting rights reserved for American citizens violates the nation&#8217;s constitutional principles, &#8220;but also naively invites foreign meddling in our elections.&#8221;
&#8220;Voting is a privilege and the tool by which American citizens exercise their say in who leads our country, how we spend our tax dollars, and what policies should be instituted,&#8221; Cruz <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ted-cruz-introduces-bill-to-block-non-citizens-from-voting-in-washington-d-c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;I am vehemently against unconstitutionally cheapening the votes of American citizens and ignoring the rule of law in this nation.&#8221;
Fellow GOP Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) also introduced a resolution in Congress in December to block the non-citizen voting law from taking effect, calling it an &#8220;insane policy.&#8221;

CORONAVIRUS ELECTIONS

Non-Citizens Allowed To Vote In Local Washington D.C. Elections: Report

House Republicans

Immigration

Muriel Bowser

Politics

U.S. Senate

The city council of Washington, D.C., voted 12-1 on Tuesday to advance a bill that would allow non-citizen residents to vote in future local elections.
The bill will move ahead to an upcoming final vote before being sent to Mayor Muriel Bowser (D).
“Our immigrant neighbors of all statuses participate, contribute and care about our community in our city. They, like all DC residents, deserve a right to have a say in their government,” D.C. Councilmember Charles Allen said during the Tuesday legislative meeting, <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/3674089-dc-council-advances-bill-to-let-noncitizens-vote/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to</a> The Hill.
“They raise families here, contribute to their community. They run businesses that people depend on, and they pay taxes that we decide how to spend. Yet they have no ability to elect local leaders who make decisions about their bodies, their businesses and their tax dollars,” Allen added.
The bill, if approved, would permit non-citizen residents in the District of Columbia to vote in local elections that include its mayor, attorney general, and school board members. The residency requirement was only 30 days for non-citizens, an important detail that led Councilmember Mary Cheh to oppose the bill.
The bill&#8217;s advancement comes as Washington faces a growing number of migrants bused into the area from Texas and Arizona. Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott has sent more than 8,100 migrants to the nation&#8217;s capital as of last week, according to a <a href="https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/operation-lone-star-stops-human-smuggling-attempts-at-border" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> from his office.
Arizona has reportedly sent nearly 2,000 migrants to Washington over the past four months, <a href="https://www.kold.com/2022/09/16/arizona-has-bused-nearly-2000-migrants-border/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to</a> KTVK-TV. The cost for each busload was noted as $82,146 per trip.
The D.C. non-citizen voting bill comes as a growing number of locations across the U.S. seek to add non-citizens to their lists of registered voters. So far, similar initiatives have faced strong legal challenges in the courts.
In San Francisco, an August ruling struck down a city ordinance allowing non-citizens to vote in school board elections. As The Daily Wire previously reported, it was approved in 2016.  The law was <a href="https://usjf.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Complaint-Filed.pdf">challenged</a> by various groups, including the California Public Policy Foundation and the United States Justice Foundation.
“The State of California has a long-standing requirement that voters must be United States citizens,” the plaintiffs <a href="https://californiaglobe.com/articles/california-judge-overturns-san-francisco-law-allowing-noncitizens-to-vote/">argued</a>. “This requirement applies to every election in the state, even those conducted by charter cities, because determining voter qualifications is a matter of statewide concern where state law supersedes conflicting charter city ordinances.”
A similar law in New York City proposed to permit up to 800,000 non-citizens to vote in city elections. The law was struck down by the state&#8217;s Supreme Court in June.
“The New York State Constitution expressly states that citizens meeting the age and residency requirements are entitled to register and vote in elections,” Justice Ralph Porzio <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/27/nyregion/noncitizen-voting-ruling-nyc.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> in his ruling. “There is no statutory ability for the City of New York to issue inconsistent laws permitting noncitizens to vote and exceed the authority granted to it by the New York State Constitution.”

Washington, D.C. Advances Bill To Let Non-Citizens Vote

Illegal Immigration

Voting Bill

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/north-carolina" target="_blank" rel="noopener">North Carolina</a> Supreme Court ruled Friday that a constitutional amendment implementing <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/voter-id" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voter ID</a> requirements may be invalid because the legislature that passed it was racially gerrymandered.
In a 4-3 party line <a href="https://appellate.nccourts.org/opinions/?c=1&amp;pdf=41699">ruling</a>, the state Supreme Court found that a 2018 amendment to the state constitution may be invalid because the majorities in the state legislature came from districts that had been unconstitutionally racially gerrymandered. The ruling did not outright overturn the amendment, which was ratified by voters in the same year, but remanded the case back to a lower court for further study.
&#8220;In the final week of the final regular legislative session preceding the 2018 general election, a General Assembly that was composed of a substantial number of legislators elected from districts that the United States Supreme Court had conclusively determined to have resulted from unconstitutional racial gerrymandering enacted legislation presenting six constitutional amendments to North Carolina voters,&#8221; Justice Anita Earls wrote for the Court&#8217;s Democratic majority.
The two amendments at issue in the case were the voter ID amendment, as well as another amendment preventing the state income tax from ever being raised above 7%. The amendments were passed by a three-fifths majority of both chambers of the legislature; but the voter ID amendment only passed by two votes in the state House of Representatives and three in the Senate; the tax cap amendment passed by just one vote in the House and four votes in the Senate. In the general election in 2018, both amendments were ratified a majority of voters.
At the same time, a federal court ruling found that nearly 30 legislative districts were illegal racial gerrymanders; 100 of the state&#8217;s 170 legislative seats had to be redrawn, the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/north-carolina-constitutions-constitutional-amendments-supreme-court-government-and-politics-b7f91cdc8dd7ee1ed80cc50e0fe91382">Associated Press</a> reported. Judges allowed the state legislators elected in 2016 to serve their two-year terms. But in 2018, using redrawn legislative maps, voters in the state broke Republican supermajorities in both houses, the <a href="https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article264680559.html">Raleigh News &amp; Observer</a> added.
The 2018 election formed the basis for the lawsuit, brought by the NAACP, which contended that even though voters had approved the amendments, they were invalid because they had been introduced by an unconstitutional legislature.
&#8220;We conclude that &#8230; the North Carolina Constitution impose[s] limits on these legislators’ authority to initiate the process of amending the constitution under these circumstances,&#8221; Earls wrote, adding, however, that the trial court&#8217;s ruling invalidating the amendments was too broad.
&#8220;In particular, the trial court should have examined &#8230; whether the legislature was composed of a sufficient number of legislators elected from unconstitutionally gerrymandered districts—or from districts that were made possible by the unconstitutional gerrymander—such that the votes of those legislators could have been decisive in passing the challenged enactments &#8230; In this case, however, the record is clear that votes of legislators from unconstitutionally gerrymandered districts could have been decisive.&#8221; The Court remanded the case back to the trial court to determine whether the amendment would have kept the legislators who passed it in power, whether it would have continued to exclude certain voters, or whether it would constitute the same kind of discrimination as the gerrymander itself.
Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives, Tim Moore (R), called the decision a &#8220;judicial coup&#8221; and vowed to keep fighting for the amendments in court.
“This party-line ruling is in direct contradiction to the rule of law and the will of the voters,&#8221; Moore said in a <a href="http://speakermoore.com/unprecedented-nc-supreme-court-ruling-undermines-voters-constitution/">statement</a>. “I will continue to fight for the Voter ID and Tax Cap Amendments, which were overwhelmingly approved by the people of North Carolina. It’s time to end the judicial coup that is unilaterally altering our constitution and subverting the will of North Carolina voters.”

Man hand knocking a wooden judge gavel, law and auction concept.

NC Supreme Court Says Voter ID Amendment May Be Invalid Because Of Racial Gerrymandering

Court

North Carolina

Racism

Voter ID

A federal judicial nominee recently nominated by President Joe Biden told law school students two years ago that people who support voter ID laws have “privilege” and are going by “the very same playbook” as those who upheld Jim Crow-era voting laws, according to footage reviewed by The Daily Wire. The attorney, Natasha Merle, also said the GOP was trying to &#8220;scare people.&#8221;
Merle, an NAACP attorney, was included in Biden’s 13th round of nominees on January 19, <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/01/19/president-biden-names-thirteenth-round-of-judicial-nominees/">according</a> to a White House memo. She would work for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
Merle prides <a href="https://www.naacpldf.org/about-us/staff/natasha-merle/">herself</a> on promoting “racial justice primarily in the areas of criminal justice, political participation and educational opportunities,” and was lead counsel in a <a href="https://www.naacpldf.org/case-issue/ldf-v-trump/">case</a> against former President Donald Trump accusing his election integrity commission of being “racially discriminatory.” She has <a href="https://www.law.columbia.edu/academics/courses/28478">taught</a> law school courses such as “Racial Justice” at Columbia. 
In <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltqUhsgOsHg">remarks</a> given at Washington and Lee University School of Law in Virginia, on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2020, Merle derided efforts by the legal system to investigate voter fraud as racist. 
“That’s the goal of investigations and prosecutions into unfounded allegations of voter fraud. To scare people from even attempting to exercise their right to vote,” she noted. 
About a minute later, Merle went so far as to say voter ID laws — a way for polls to ensure legal citizens are casting a ballot — are discriminatory toward black people. She referenced the Alabama legislature’s move mandating voter ID, which was <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/naacp-seeks-rehearing-alabama-voter-191419312.html">upheld</a> in court after the NAACP sued. 
On their face, photo ID laws may seem reasonable to some. The narrative is that you need a photo ID for everything. You need a photo ID to drive. You need a photo ID to cash a check. But if we check our privilege, we recognize this narrative is false. In many parts around the country, people do not have cars. They cannot afford cars. . . In spite [of] this the Alabama legislature still passed this law based on unfounded suspicion of voter fraud. . . The state refuses to accept government-issued public housing ID, which is overwhelmingly held by black voters and are government-issued.
According to Merle, who spoke for about an hour and fielded questions from students and professors, Republicans are going by “the very same playbook” Democrats did in suppressing voting during the 1960s. Merle could not be reached for comment. 
The unearthing of Merle’s comments comes on the heels of Biden putting forth another nominee named Nancy Abudu, who, as first <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-judicial-nominee-said-proof-of-citizenship-is-voter-suppression">reported by</a> The Daily Wire, said “proof of citizenship” is “voter suppression.” This sentiment has been <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/03/26/biden-georgia-election-law-is-jim-crow-in-the-21st-century/">echoed</a> by the president himself, who equated a Georgia law mandating photo ID to vote with “Jim Crow in the 21st century” and “Jim Crow on steroids.”
Earlier this month, Biden urged senators to pass legislation introduced by Democrats that would extend early voting, gut voter ID requirements, and allow no-excuse mail-in voting on the federal level. When questioned on his <a href="https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1481020304298332170?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1481020304298332170%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftownhall.com%2Ftipsheet%2Fkatiepavlich%2F2022%2F01%2F12%2Fbiden-boasted-about-praise-from-george-wallace-n2601743">comments</a> likening Republicans today to segregationists George Wallace and Bull Connor, as well as Confederate leader Jefferson Davis, Biden told reporter Philip Wegmann, “No, I didn’t say that.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a Daily Wire request for comment.
Send story tips to Gabe Kaminsky at <a href="mailto:gekaminsky@protonmail.com">gekaminsky@protonmail.com</a>. Follow him <a href="https://twitter.com/Gabe__Kaminsky">on Twitter.</a>

Biden nominee

FOOTAGE: Biden Court Nominee Argued Voter ID Requirements Are ‘Same Playbook’ As Jim Crow

NAACP

White House

Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel warned against the Democrat Party&#8217;s election reform push, referring to the proposed Freedom to Vote Act as &#8220;the Freedom to Cheat Act.&#8221;
McDaniel shared the remarks in a news briefing with National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) ahead of President Joe Biden&#8217;s speech on election reform in Georgia on Wednesday.
&#8220;We call it the Freedom to Cheat Act. It eviscerates state voter ID laws which 36 states have passed. This bill eliminates states&#8217; more secure voter ID requirements, replacing them with a process that is rife with fraud, no IDs presented, and a third person only needs to attest that a voter is who they claim to be,&#8221; McDaniel <a href="https://justthenews.com/government/congress/republicans-dub-democrats-voting-rights-bill-freedom-cheat-act" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
&#8220;I know, based on polling across every spectrum, Democrat, Republican, every minority group, people want people to show ID to vote and this is one aspect, just one, in which &#8212; and there are others &#8212; in which the Freedom to Cheat Act would eviscerate any type of verification for people to vote,&#8221; she added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
GOP dubs Democrats’ voting bill ‘Freedom to Cheat Act,’ argues they don’t want ‘fair elections’ | Just The News<a href="https://t.co/JZwblbIMfK">https://t.co/JZwblbIMfK</a>
&mdash; John Solomon (@jsolomonReports) <a href="https://twitter.com/jsolomonReports/status/1481016297920024576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 11, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In a Tuesday <a href="https://gop.com/press-release/rnc-statement-on-bidens-election-takeover-efforts/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>, McDaniel also spoke out against the Biden administration&#8217;s plan to remove Senate filibuster rules to pass its own voting reform bill as a &#8220;federal takeover&#8221; of elections.
&#8220;Joe Biden and Democrats&#8217; election takeover attempts are blatant power-grabs designed to rig the game. Democrats want to destroy the integrity of our elections by eliminating photo ID requirements, allowing non-citizens to vote, using taxpayer dollars to fund career politicians, and silencing voters. No number of lies told or fake hysteria pushed today justify Democrats’ agenda to break the Senate and destroy American elections,” she said.
The statement shared that 75% of Americans &#8212; including 69% of black voters and 60% of Democrats polled &#8212; support voter ID requirements.
During an interview on Fox News&#8217; &#8220;The Faulkner Focus&#8221; on Wednesday, McDaniel emphasized that Republican voting reform measures are intended to make elections secure.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="McDaniel: Republicans Want Elections To Be Secure" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RClJCPBUPkU?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
&#8220;You can&#8217;t go to a restaurant without showing your vaccine card, but they want to strip away showing your ID to vote &#8211; which 80% of the American people agree with according to NPR. This is something that most of us think should happen just to make sure our elections are secure. They are overreaching here. Joe Biden is in Georgia; he should actually be in New York where they just allowed non-citizens to vote in their elections. Maybe he should be fighting that instead,&#8221; she said.
Republican Sen. Scott also spoke on the Senate Floor on Wednesday against Democrats’ plans to make permanent and fundamental changes to the legislative filibuster, a Senate rule that requires a 60-vote supermajority to move forward pending legislation.
&#8220;Senate Democrats, led by Chuck Schumer, have fiercely defended the legislative filibuster in the past, but are now flip-flopping so they can jam through a bill that would completely upend America’s current election system. Senator Scott took to the floor to expose their gross hypocrisy,&#8221; Scott said in a <a href="https://www.rickscott.senate.gov/2022/1/sen-rick-scott-democrats-filibuster-hypocrisy-threatens-to-ruin-the-senate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Sen. Rick Scott&#039;s Speech on the Senate Floor on the Democrats&#039; Filibuster Flip Flop - Jan. 12, 2022" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SoxF6Sy6wpo?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Ronna McDaniel

‘Freedom to Cheat Act’: RNC Leader Warns Against Democrat ‘Election Reform’

Election Laws

Rick Scott

Ronna Romney McDaniel

Failed Georgia Democrat gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams will not attend a speech on Tuesday by Democrat President Joe Biden on voting rights, which is the top issue that she cares about.
&#8220;Abrams welcomed today’s visit from President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on social media, but she won’t be with them when they speak in Atlanta today. The Democratic candidate for governor cited a scheduling conflict for not being there,&#8221; The Atlanta Journal-Constitution <a href="https://www.ajc.com/politics/politics-blog/the-jolt-stacey-abrams-wont-be-with-joe-biden-and-kamala-harris-in-atlanta-today/4MHFS3BTOJCPVMMCISG3LFHEX4/">reported</a>. &#8220;Several voting rights groups also won’t attend, after saying separately they’ll boycott the Biden-Harris trip promoting voting rights in Atlanta on Tuesday.&#8221;
Despite not attending the event, Abrams put out a tweet welcoming Biden, writing: &#8220;The fight for voting rights takes persistence. As MLK exhorted, &#8216;The clock of destiny is ticking out. We must act now before it is too late.'&#8221;
&#8220;Thank you, @POTUS, for refusing to relent until the work is finished,&#8221; she added. &#8220;Welcome back to Georgia where we get good done.&#8221;
Notable responses to the news included:
<ul>
<li>Tim Murtaugh, former Trump campaign spokesman: &#8220;This is an incredible snub of both Biden and Harris, who will be in the capital city of Stacey Abrams’ own state to talk about her signature issue. Somehow she can’t find the time to be there. Gives you an idea of how politically toxic Joe Biden really is.&#8221;</li>
<li>Erick Erickson, radio host: &#8220;This is pretty damning and a warning sign Warnock has problems if Abrams won’t show up to be with Biden in Georgia *after* Abrams has already said she’s running in 2022. Distancing from the sitting President in an election year is always a bad sign.&#8221;</li>
<li>Jesse Hunt, Republican Governors Association Communications Director: &#8220;To be fair to Joe Biden…it’s actually really hard to get Stacey Abrams to make appearances in GA. Nationwide tours and talk show couches are a better bet.&#8221;</li>
<li>Ben Williamson, former White House adviser: &#8220;There’s bad, and then there’s &#8216;Gubernatorial candidate in a state you carried cancels on you&#8217; bad.&#8221;</li>
</ul>
&#8220;However, some major voting rights groups have expressed opposition to Biden&#8217;s visit and are making a point of not attending the event. They are even calling for the president to remain in Washington, D.C., unless he has a plan to reform the Senate filibuster in order to pass voting rights legislation,&#8221; Newsweek <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/stacey-abrams-voting-rights-activists-skip-major-joe-biden-speech-elections-1667855">reported</a>. &#8220;Among the groups planning to skip the event are the Asian American Advocacy Fund, Black Voters Matter, GALEO Impact Fund Inc. and New Georgia Project Action Fund.&#8221;
&#8220;We don&#8217;t need even more photo ops,&#8221; Cliff Albright, co-founder of Black Voters Matter, told CNN this week. &#8220;We need action, and that action is in the form of the John Lewis Voting Rights [Advancement] Act as well as the Freedom to Vote Act, and we need that immediately.&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bare-shelves-biden-trends-near-top-of-twitter-as-users-highlight-supply-chain-crisis-apocalypse-now">‘Bare Shelves Biden’ Trends Near Top Of Twitter As Users Highlight Supply Chain Crisis: ‘Apocalypse Now’</a>

Former House Democratic Leader and Democratic nominee for Governor Stacey Abrams

Stacey Abrams To Skip Voting Rights Speech By Biden: ‘This Is Pretty Damning And A Warning Sign’

Stacey Abrams

The Texas legislature passed an election integrity bill on Tuesday after weeks of back-and-forth between members of both parties in the state. 
Republican Governor of Texas Greg Abbott promised to sign the bill, as well, seemingly solidifying the GOP victory. 
Democrats in the state are continuing to press for the federal government to intervene in state elections in an effort to push back against the efforts of Republicans to secure elections. 
“We knew we wouldn’t be able to hold off this day forever,” Representative Chris Turner, chairman of the House Democratic caucus, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/31/us/politics/texas-voting-rights-bill.html">said</a> in a statement on Tuesday, per The New York Times. “Now that it has come, we need the U.S. Senate to act immediately.”
Republicans, on the other hand, have pressed that the legislation is necessary to ensure that elections are secure and people trust the results. 
“It is about ensuring that all Texans trust the outcome of every election in Texas,” Republican Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/31/us/politics/texas-voting-rights-bill.html">said</a> in a statement.
“Senate Bill 1 will make it easier to vote and harder to cheat,” Texas House Republican Caucus Chairman Jim Murphy <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/08/31/texas-voting-bill-faq/">said</a> in a statement last week, noting that the bill will “go a long way in ensuring the integrity of our elections.”
The Texas House passed the legislation earlier this week and sent it to the Senate for final debate and revisions. 
As the Texas Tribune <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/31/texas-voting-restrictions-bill/">reported</a> on Tuesday:
<blockquote>
The legislation establishes new ID requirements for voting by mail, enhances protections for partisan poll watchers and sets new rules, and possible criminal penalties, for those who assist voters.
It also makes it a state jail felony for local election officials to proactively distribute applications for mail-in ballots, even if they are providing them to voters who automatically qualify to vote by mail or groups helping get out the vote.
</blockquote>
Texas Democrats famously fled the state earlier this year in an effort to block Republicans from passing specific bills. Governor Greg Abbott called a special session in order for the legislature to resume its business. A few weeks ago, enough Democrats came back to the state house in order to conduct business. 
<a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/18/texas-house-democrats-quorum/">The Texas Tribune</a> reported at the time: 
<blockquote>
The margin was razor thin on Thursday and it was unclear for hours before gaveling in whether Republicans had gotten enough members in the chamber to begin their work. Ultimately, 99 members voted that they were present with 49 stated absences. (The regular 100-member threshold for a quorum dropped to 99 on Thursday after San Antonio Democrat <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/directory/leo-pacheco/">Leo Pacheco</a>’s resignation went into effect.) The House then adjourned until 4 p.m. on Monday after referring a slew of bills to committee.
</blockquote>
As The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/texas-dems-trickle-back-quorum-reached-to-vote-on-gop-voting-bills">reported</a>, GOP House Speaker Dade Phelan <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/texas-dems-trickle-back-quorum-reached-to-vote-on-gop-voting-bills">stated</a> at the time, “It’s time to get back to the business of the people of Texas.  I appreciate every one of you. I’m looking forward to working with you over the coming week or two.” 
“Some Democrats were angry that some of their colleagues had returned to the chamber. Rep. Michelle Beckley, noting that Democrats Garnet Coleman, Ana Hernandez, and Armando Walle had returned, tweeted, ‘This is how Texas Democrats lose elections,’” The Daily Wire noted.

F3D09000-7392-47F9-A3F4-8349D4D20DAB_4_5005_c

Texas Legislature Passes Election Integrity Bill

Texas

In June, Democrats <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fpolitics%2Fsenate-vote-s-1-democrats-fissile-material-go-nuclear-on-filibuster&amp;data=04%7C01%7CEVaughn%40gop.com%7C2ac9f24a062b412acbfa08d967f89e95%7C4a082c81950a410d9618462a9c74d6ae%7C1%7C0%7C637655139786880558%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&amp;sdata=bVm9eH5sx1I6ZI4JVxojeiF%2FPlsxAsRFUTg6NLbODy4%3D&amp;reserved=0">failed</a> to sell the federal takeover of state elections known as <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fopinion%2Frnc-chairwoman-mcdaniel-election-integrity-s1&amp;data=04%7C01%7CEVaughn%40gop.com%7C2ac9f24a062b412acbfa08d967f89e95%7C4a082c81950a410d9618462a9c74d6ae%7C1%7C0%7C637655139786890512%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&amp;sdata=0pBAQ7NvLM69lhH0hUQZ21SA0cSLSSxzNor7EOZc6%2FM%3D&amp;reserved=0">H.R. 1/S. 1</a> to the American people. The bill was a laundry list of left-wing fantasies, including using taxpayer dollars to fund political candidates, undermine widely supported voter ID requirements, and totally destroy the authority of states to run their own elections. Americans saw the bill for what it was — a Democrat power grab — and it failed. Now, Democrats are coming back to the table with new legislation called H.R. 4. They’re dishonestly calling it a compromise. Don’t fall for their partisan lies: H.R. 4 has the same rotten core as H.R. 1 and would make our elections far less secure.
H.R. 4’s goal is to eviscerate the right of states to manage their own elections with appropriate transparency and ballot-security safeguards. It will attempt to <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fopinion%2Fhr4-democrat-election-power-grab-ariz-ag-mark-brnovich&amp;data=04%7C01%7CEVaughn%40gop.com%7C2ac9f24a062b412acbfa08d967f89e95%7C4a082c81950a410d9618462a9c74d6ae%7C1%7C0%7C637655139786890512%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&amp;sdata=fboI3iytfF%2FTFzq9Lz5VAXKsiB3p3Dyf6nRefhOqG0w%3D&amp;reserved=0">misuse the 1965 Voting Rights Act </a>to achieve this goal. “Preclearance” is central to H.R. 4 — this plank of the law would require every state election official to submit any election law changes to the Department of Justice for approval. In short, Democrats want states to ask Washington, D.C., for permission to pass local laws that would, for example, require voter ID — a policy that polls <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fpolitics%2Fwidespread-support-for-voter-id-and-making-early-voting-easier-national-poll&amp;data=04%7C01%7CEVaughn%40gop.com%7C2ac9f24a062b412acbfa08d967f89e95%7C4a082c81950a410d9618462a9c74d6ae%7C1%7C0%7C637655139786890512%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&amp;sdata=tCWgLxHgUcGMqtIe3iOyuZS%2BUR1bcyNxgoskaBDc%2FXE%3D&amp;reserved=0">consistently find</a> <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fnypost.com%2F2021%2F07%2F08%2Fnew-poll-shows-78-percent-are-in-favor-of-stronger-voter-id-laws%2F&amp;data=04%7C01%7CEVaughn%40gop.com%7C2ac9f24a062b412acbfa08d967f89e95%7C4a082c81950a410d9618462a9c74d6ae%7C1%7C0%7C637655139786900467%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&amp;sdata=A1KhtssVfFJkr5NHvC8%2F99bXRtlRiZo9wz8QfRnYD70%3D&amp;reserved=0">roughly 80% </a>of Americans in support. Joe Biden and Democrats want their politicized Department of Justice to control how states manage their own elections. This is the same Department of Justice that recently sued the State of Georgia over its new election integrity laws. The RNC <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnbc.com%2F2021%2F07%2F08%2Fgop-groups-rnc-nrsc-fight-biden-dojs-lawsuit-against-georgia-voting-rules.html&amp;data=04%7C01%7CEVaughn%40gop.com%7C2ac9f24a062b412acbfa08d967f89e95%7C4a082c81950a410d9618462a9c74d6ae%7C1%7C0%7C637655139786900467%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&amp;sdata=LiYO2uGmDmQL1ZSMIQ2w0fMx8TJAOMijPASd7rwqyJ0%3D&amp;reserved=0">intervened</a> to protect Georgia in that lawsuit, and we expect another win there for Republicans on the heels of our recent victory in <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnbc.com%2F2021%2F07%2F01%2Fsupreme-court-upholds-arizona-voting-rules-democrats-called-discriminatory.html&amp;data=04%7C01%7CEVaughn%40gop.com%7C2ac9f24a062b412acbfa08d967f89e95%7C4a082c81950a410d9618462a9c74d6ae%7C1%7C0%7C637655139786910432%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&amp;sdata=vmW%2FP%2B6WYoyUcJvjZflXyvZPK9KZONtf%2F807gI1c45M%3D&amp;reserved=0">Brnovich v. DNC</a>, which banned ballot trafficking in Arizona. This Department of Justice is currently trying to strong-arm states into making their elections less secure and transparent, and Joe Biden wants to expand its mandate to control every aspect of state-level elections.
That is big-government totalitarianism at its very worst. It bears mentioning that the Supreme Court found old preclearance formulas to be unconstitutional in the 2013 <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.oyez.org%2Fcases%2F2012%2F12-96&amp;data=04%7C01%7CEVaughn%40gop.com%7C2ac9f24a062b412acbfa08d967f89e95%7C4a082c81950a410d9618462a9c74d6ae%7C1%7C0%7C637655139786910432%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&amp;sdata=T5Y6OUmubnl3RjkGUqN9TjbIppm3lKpJHOAZNbHBdcE%3D&amp;reserved=0">Shelby County v. Holder</a> case. Preclearance’s subjugation of state law to Washington overreach undermines the rights of states to develop and apply best voting practices informed by local knowledge. Democrats are trying to revive an outdated, unconstitutional provision from the 1960s in their stop-at-nothing efforts to undermine election integrity.
H.R. 4 contains other provisions that should concern every American who wants elections to be free, fair, and transparent. The bill takes aim at efforts to clean up voter rolls, attempting to handcuff local officials who attempt to keep their voter lists up-to-date and accurate. For example, the bill would prohibit states from participating in an inter-state accountability process to ensure accurate lists. The bill would also force federal courts to take inaccurate census data and subject every existing strict voter ID requirement to Department of Justice review.
This is not what the American people want. Polling shows that Americans — including a <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Falisondurkee%2F2021%2F06%2F21%2F80-of-americans-support-voter-id-rules-but-fewer-worried-about-fraud-poll-finds%2F&amp;data=04%7C01%7CEVaughn%40gop.com%7C2ac9f24a062b412acbfa08d967f89e95%7C4a082c81950a410d9618462a9c74d6ae%7C1%7C0%7C637655139786920387%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&amp;sdata=42aU094Q7K65TpTGJCwUp5Optr%2FiuSoNZ2kAbrSpuvE%3D&amp;reserved=0">majority</a> of Democrats and minority voters — support voter ID. Polling also shows that <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpunchbowl.news%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2FON-National-S1-Rearch-Memo-FINAL.pdf&amp;data=04%7C01%7CEVaughn%40gop.com%7C2ac9f24a062b412acbfa08d967f89e95%7C4a082c81950a410d9618462a9c74d6ae%7C1%7C0%7C637655139786920387%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&amp;sdata=ey0NHERbeoeBLrwI22fCpLERhbO8UsgUjMeM96u8nqo%3D&amp;reserved=0">68%</a> of voters believe that state legislatures should decide the voting rules and regulations for their state, not the federal government. That number alone should invalidate Democrat attempts to strip all local authority from state-level election officials.
Democrats are upset that states like Georgia, Florida, Arizona, and Iowa have taken the initiative and passed strong election integrity laws. They can’t bear the thought that states might act without input from D.C. bureaucrats. That concept is antithetical to their power-grab mentality, and so they want to suppress state-run elections.
Democrats failed to pass H.R. 1, and H.R. 4 will meet a similar fate. H.R. 4 is totally out of line with public opinion and an extreme power grab that Americans will reject. As Democrat lies and schemes continue to fail, Republicans will continue to <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fprotectthevote.com%2F&amp;data=04%7C01%7CEVaughn%40gop.com%7C2ac9f24a062b412acbfa08d967f89e95%7C4a082c81950a410d9618462a9c74d6ae%7C1%7C0%7C637655139786930336%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&amp;sdata=%2FBgHi8wxZ8HQNVwLEzF45tkCuXnPbr3Byn3EYuQSZ0Q%3D&amp;reserved=0">ensure</a> the security and transparency of our elections.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Kyle Hupfer is RNC general counsel and Indiana GOP chairman.

Nancy Pelosi

Don’t Be Fooled: H.R. 4 Is Just Another Power Grab

President Biden and other Democrats have referred to Republican-sponsored voting reforms in Georgia, Texas and elsewhere as “Jim Crow 2.0.” Republicans, the not-very-subtle implication is, are engaged in white supremacist “voter suppression” attempting to restore the repressive practices of a bygone era.
While these claims have been reported (and sometimes repeated and amplified) by mainstream media, most analyses have missed a critical step. In order to evaluate the claims of Jim Crow 2.0, it’s essential to understand Jim Crow 1.0. How was the black vote suppressed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries? Only with such an understanding can one render a sensible judgment about today’s voting reforms and proposed remedies such as H.R. 1.
In Jim Crow’s original incarnation, four major mechanisms were used to prevent or discourage African Americans from voting.
By far the bluntest instrument was physical intimidation and violence by the Ku Klux Klan or other organized paramilitary forces such as the Knights of the White Camelia, White Brotherhood, White League, Red Shirts, or rifle clubs made up of Confederate army veterans.  These groups would assassinate black political and social leaders and threaten black voters with reprisals if they showed up at the polls. In some cases, they provided voters with certificates, which assured their safety if they voted Democratic.
In Arkansas, about 2,000 blacks were killed prior to the 1868 election; in Georgia, the number was higher. Louisiana saw approximately 1,000 blacks murdered. The consequences were predictable. In St. Landry Parish, Republicans held a 1,071 advantage in voter registrations but received zero votes in the fall 1868 election. In New Orleans, of 21,000 registered Republicans, only 276 voted. Similarly, the Republican candidate received 1,222 votes in Columbia County in Georgia’s April 1868 gubernatorial election. In November of that year, following a KKK reign of terror, Ulysses S. Grant received one vote for president. “At least 10 percent of the Black legislators elected during the 1867-1868 constitutional conventions became victims of violence during Reconstruction, including seven who were killed,” according to History.com.
In the 1920s, a resurgent Ku Klux Klan monitored polling places and even dropped leaflets out of airplanes over heavily black areas warning against voting. As late as the 1960s, the Klan engaged in open intimidation at polling places.
Second, following ratification of the 15th Amendment, which prohibited the denial of voting rights on the basis of race, Southern state governments utilized a variety of other means to suppress the black vote. One was the poll tax levied on individuals who registered to vote. The poll tax was generally between $1 and $2. This doesn’t sound like much in 2021, but the contemporary Alabama sharecropper earned an average of 65 cents a day. Alabama’s $2 poll tax was equivalent to three days’ wages. Someone making $30,000 a year today would pay around $350 at that rate. The poll tax was aimed primarily at blacks, most of whom could ill afford to pay it, but it also affected poor whites.
Another widely used mechanism was the literacy test for voter registration. In theory, the literacy test, like the poll tax, was race-neutral, typically required of anyone who could not prove that he had at least a fifth-grade education. But the tests were designed with the purpose of disqualifying potential black voters in large numbers.
Some tests focused on knowledge of the workings of the state or U.S. government; others measured logic or reading skills. A single answer marked wrong could mean failure. Whites were often exempted from literacy tests altogether due to “grandfather clauses.” In the mid-1960s, Duke law professor William W. Van Alstyne sent four questions from the Alabama literacy test to all active constitutional law professors in American law schools with instructions to answer without external aids. Almost 100 responded – and 70% of their answers were incorrect.
Finally, in eight Southern states, Democrats found another way to circumvent the 15th Amendment. The Constitution, they reasoned, applied to federal elections but not to party nominating processes, which were an internal function of private associations. In the Solid South, receiving the Democratic nomination for office was usually tantamount to election. Thus, only whites would be permitted to vote in the Democratic primary. Even if an African American could navigate the formidable maze of obstacles to somehow vote in the general election, it wouldn’t matter. He would be denied access to the most critical phase of the election in a one-party state.
In the mid-20th century, these devices of voter suppression began being gradually dismantled. In a series of cases in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, the Supreme Court barred use of the white primary. The 24th Amendment, ratified in 1964, prohibited use of the poll tax in federal elections, a rule extended by the Supreme Court to state and local elections two years later. Literacy tests were driven out of usage by provisions in the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The VRA also authorized the stationing of U.S. marshals at polling places and voter registration centers in order to prevent intimidation of black voters.
The Ku Klux Klan itself, by then in its third incarnation, began suffering a massive decline of membership that has continued to the present day. A group that had upwards of 5 million members nationally at its peak in the 1920s now has around 5,000. Throughout the South, the effects of these changes were monumental. In Mississippi, for example, voter turnout by blacks grew from 7% in 1964 to 59% in 1969.
This, then, was Jim Crow 1.0. What, by way of comparison, is Jim Crow 2.0, according to President Biden and Democratic members of the Texas Assembly?
Here are some of the provisions of recent state election laws that have drawn criticism and even been subjected to (unsuccessful) lawsuits:
<ul>
<li>Voter identification requirements that can be satisfied with a driver’s license or a cost-free, state-issued ID</li>
<li>Requiring that voters must vote in the correct precinct</li>
<li>Requiring that vote-collection boxes be supervised</li>
<li>Prohibition on paid outside groups collecting and depositing large numbers of ballots</li>
<li>Prohibition on electioneering within 150 feet of the polling place</li>
<li>Adjusting the window for absentee-ballot submission by a few days to ensure counting in a timely fashion</li>
<li>Enshrining in law for the first time use of ballot-collection boxes, though at a reduced number from those used during the pandemic year of 2020</li>
<li>Requiring voters to make requests for absentee ballots every two years rather than every four years</li>
<li>Requiring that local election officials actually follow the laws of the state or be subject to criminal penalties.</li>
</ul>
This list does not include other aspects of the same legislation that often broadened opportunities for voting, such as extended in-person early-voting hours and replacement of signature verification – often subject to mistaken disqualifications – with use of the voter’s driver’s license number or Social Security number on mail ballots.
So, to recap, Jim Crow 1.0 entailed widespread murder and violent intimidation, onerous taxes, rigged literacy tests, and a flat prohibition on blacks voting in the primary elections of the dominant party, leading to results such as Mississippi’s 7% voter-turnout rate for African Americans. “Jim Crow 2.0,” meantime, requires that voters show proper identification, vote in the correct precinct, and request their absentee ballot every two years instead of every four.
Someday, historians will marvel that anyone ever took seriously the argument that these two regimes bore any relation to one another.
Nearly everyone in America understands that we need to lower the political temperature if we want our country to hold together. A good place to start would be to stop inflaming racial and partisan animosities by making incendiary – and indefensible – claims that our opponents are working to restore some dark chapter in American history. If Joe Biden actually meant what he said about unifying the country, this would be an easy call for him to make. One Jim Crow was one too many. It’s time to recognize that the second one is imaginary and stop invoking it.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Andrew E. Busch is Crown Professor of Government and George R. Roberts Fellow at Claremont McKenna College. He is co-author of “Divided We Stand: The 2020 Elections and American Politics” (Rowman &amp; Littlefield).

Voting sign

‘Jim Crow 2.0’ Is Imaginary – And Divisive

After a Texas Democrat state representative returned to Austin from Washington, D.C., where he and other Texas Democrats had flown in order to break the quorum in the House to stop the Texas GOP from passing voting bills, the Republican Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives signed a civil warrant for his arrest.
The Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, Dade Phelan, issued the civil warrant for the arrest of state Rep. Philip Cortez from San Antonio. Phelan wrote:
<blockquote>To the Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Representatives of the State of Texas, or any officer appointed by him: you are hereby commanded to take The Honorable Philip Cortez, a Member of the House of Representatives of the State of Texas, who is now absent from the House, wherever said Member may be found in the State, into your custody and safekeeping and bring said Member before the bar of the House instanter, this writ being issued under a duly-adopted order of the House pursuant to Article III, Section 10, Texas Constitution, made in exercise of its lawful powers to compel the attendance of absent members in the manner provided under the House Rules of Procedure. Herein fail not, but make due return hereof to this House.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
New: Here&#39;s a copy of the civil arrest warrant for <a href="https://twitter.com/CortezPhilip?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CortezPhilip</a> signed by <a href="https://twitter.com/DadePhelan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DadePhelan</a> yesterday after he returned to DC. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/txlege?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#txlege</a> <a href="https://t.co/oqbQtQ86vN">pic.twitter.com/oqbQtQ86vN</a>
&mdash; Brad Johnson (@bradj_TX) <a href="https://twitter.com/bradj_TX/status/1419705266094870528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 26, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Article III, Section 10 of the Texas state constitution <a href="https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CN/htm/CN.3/CN.3.10.htm">states</a>, “QUORUM; ADJOURNMENTS FROM DAY TO DAY; COMPELLING ATTENDANCE. Two-thirds of each House shall constitute a quorum to do business, but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and compel the attendance of absent members, in such manner and under such penalties as each House may provide.”
Cortez returned to Washington, D.C., on Sunday; he “returned to Austin from Washington in what he said was an attempt to engage in ‘good faith dialogue’ about House Bill 3, the election legislation,” <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2021/07/26/dade-phelan-civil-arrest-warrant-house-democrat-philip-cortez/">The Texas Tribune</a> reported, adding, “Other Democrats criticized Cortez&#8217;s move, saying the lawmaker did not first consult with them before returning to Austin.”
&#8220;Rep. Cortez returned to the Texas Capitol of his own volition and represented to me and his fellow members that he wanted to work on policy and find solutions to bring his colleagues back to Texas,&#8221; Phelan said, as <a href="https://www.kvue.com/article/news/politics/special-session/texas-democrat-philip-cortez-arrest-warrant/269-1b1303bd-1117-4fe3-aea9-779ea0922b29">KVUE</a> reported. &#8220;As a condition of being granted permission to temporarily leave the House floor, Rep. Cortez promised his House colleagues that he would return. Instead, he fled the state and has irrevocably broken my trust and the trust of this chamber.&#8221;
Meanwhile, after Cortez returned to Washington, D.C., Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Chris Turner praised him, saying, “In the Texas House Democratic Caucus, our unity is our strength. We welcome Rep. Phil Cortez, who is a valued member of our Caucus, back to Washington, D.C. with open arms. All 57 Democrats breaking quorum are just as firm in our commitment to seeing this through until the end as we were the day we left. We are united and unrelenting in our commitment to protect the freedom to vote.”
The Texas Democrats intend to stay away from Texas until after August 6, the last day of the special session.

Texas Governor Abbott Convenes Special Session Of State Legislature

‘He Fled The State’: Texas GOP Speaker Issues Arrest Warrant For Fleeing Texas Democrat

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