#328: HR1's All-Encompassing Fixes
.............................
I have now read through the entire Brennan Center walk-through of House Resolution 1: The For The People Act, which tackles disfunction in our political system.
And before your eyes begin to close (the way mine did several times while reading), let me say that the legislation is everything one could want. It fixes dozens of holes in our federal election system, as well as in our government in general--many shown to be problems by the mendacity and avarice of our most recent president.
It has problems, as pointed out by a recent article in the Daily Beast by Jessica Huseman. But these problems are mainly related to timing. If and when the Senate passes what is now S 1, any remaining deadlines and mandates that are problematic can be adjusted in conference with the House.
First, we'll describe, in brief, what the bill does, then deal with any problems the bill might have.
In short, it's as if someone were to wave a magic wand, and fix everything subject to legislative adjustment:
* Makes Voter Registration easier and (eventually), covers everyone automatically
* Requires (eventually) Paper Ballots that can be examined by the voter prior to tabulation, and can then be recounted by hand--thus removing any chance of fraud
* Strengthens Early Voting and Vote-By-Mail options, and requires vote counting begin ASAP, to enable quick election night tallies
* Election day becomes a holiday
* Looks into making Washington DC a state
* Eliminates Gerrymandering (weird-shaped voting districts, meant to help one party over another) by 2031
* Stops potential Foreign Interference in the US voting process, mainly through auditing election results
* Removes the ability of foreigners to spend money on Campaign Advertising
* Mandates full disclosure of all funding sources for political Online Advertising
* Political Ads must include who's paying for them
* US Corporate Donations that are political in nature must be OK'd by shareholders
* Presidential Inaugural Fundraising is limited
* Campaign Finance Reform includes 6-to-1 matches for congressional races, without using taxpayer monies, for candidates sticking to the 'little guy' rules
* Major Lobbying Reform (example: foreign agents), including presidential appointees recusing themselves when conflict-of-interests arise
* Ethics and Transparency Upgrades for congress as well as the president and his team
* Requires Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates to disclose their Tax Returns
......
So, what could possibly be wrong with all this?
Huseman's article makes the following major point:
While the bill is laudable, it fails to take into account the real-life experiences of our election officials who know what's possible. Note: I have included two "(eventually)" above, to indicate it will take time to get these provisions implemented.
Part of the bill writers' oblivious attitude was likely due to the early version (2018) having no chance of passing the Senate, let alone getting a presidential signature. Now, perhaps due in part to the Republican over-reaction to their presidential ticket loss, the odds of passage have improved, though are probably less than 50-50.
And here are a few minor points:
1. Not enough money has been allocated to pay for the bill's mandates (beyond the initial set up)
2. The bill requires that those wanting to register to vote be allowed to do so using an automated telephone system that doesn't yet exist
3. Another problem: voters are allowed to sue their states and counties if those entities have failed to meet all mandates--an invitation to divert resources away from actual voting
4. E-poll books, used by poll workers, are included in a list of voting technologies that must meet strict standards--but those e-poll books standards don't even exist
5. Paper ballots must be stored somewhere, prior to the random chance that they'll be audited. This involves vast amounts of warehouse space. Where does a small, rural county find such, let alone pay for it?
Aside from the obvious provisions whose deadlines will have to be extended (automatic voter registration for states that'll take years to get it right, plus paper-trail voting machines for all), the handful of problems listed as minor points can simply be avoided:
1. Provide the $$ for future needs
2. Dump this option
3. Dump this as well, allowing voters to contact a hot-line number that refers matters to Justice Department voting rights lawyers
4. With ballot auditing, this is a minor weakness in the system--put off the compliance deadline
5. Coordinate ballot storage at the federal level, if necessary
With all the above changes, Democrats may well have everyone but West Virginia's Joe Manchin on board. To both get to 60 votes (to avoid a filibuster), and/or to convince Manchin to make it 50, there will likely be a need to appeal to a bi-partisan consensus, which will mean symbolically cutting the bill back, then when Republican opposition is all but certainly made manifest, Manchin can be allowed to demand any changes he might require.
Another option is to look for success in the 2022 congressional elections. If there were more than 50 Democratic senators at that point, the Manchin bottleneck could likely be avoided.
......................
Further discussion by Igor Derysh in Salon. Also, by Andrew Prokop in Vox.
No comments:
Post a Comment