Post by Old Badger on Jan 5, 2019 15:52:05 GMT -5
This won't be the first bill to come up (that was the FY2019 appropriations bill passed on Thursday), but its designation as HR 1 is intended to send the message that this is a top priority of the new Democratic majority. The Brennan Center, a think tank that has focused on this issue over the past several years, provides a handy summary of its provisions:
Streamlining Voter Registration. H.R. 1 would bring Automatic and Same-Day Voter Registration to voters across the country. Automatic Voter Registration (AVR) is a transformative reform under which eligible voters are automatically registered when they provide information to the government at the DMV or other government agencies, unless they opt out. Since 2015, 15 states and the District of Columbia have approved AVR, leading to big gains in registration. If adopted nationwide, AVR could add as many as 50 million new voters to the rolls. Same-Day Registration (SDR) allows eligible voters to register at the polls on Election Day, making it less likely that voters will be disenfranchised by last-minute registration problems. It is already offered in 16 states. Combined with AVR, SDR would solve most of the serious registration problems voters experienced in 2016 and 2018.
Commitment to Restore the Voting Rights Act. H.R. 1 reaffirms Congress’s commitment to restore the full protections of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, the landmark civil rights law that was hobbled by the Supreme Court’s 2013 Shelby County decision. Shelby County enabled states to pass a wave of restrictive voting measures and set the stage for the brazen attempts at voter suppression we saw in 2018. The bill makes clear that Congress is committed to reversing the effects of the Supreme Court’s decision.
Nationwide Early Voting. H.R. 1 also would ensure that all voters have at least two weeks of early voting, including evening and weekend hours. Early voting, which is offered in most but not all states, boosts turnout for those who may have difficulty getting to the polls — such as working Americans and those providing childcare — and reduces long lines on Election Day. It also provides an important protection for election integrity by allowing officials to spot and address problems well in advance of Election Day. Early voting is extremely popular with voters and helped fuel record-breaking turnout in 2018.
Citizen-Funded Elections. H.R. 1 would create a small-donor matching system for Congressional races and revamp the matching system for presidential contests. Small-donor matching is an innovative reform that uses public funds to amplify small private donations. The bill would provide qualified presidential and congressional candidates with $6 in public funds for every $1 raised from small donors. A similar program has existed for decades in New York City, where it has diversified the donor pool, helped candidates of modest means run for office, and allowed elected officials to spend more time talking to their constituents instead of dialing for dollars. The bill also increases presidential public financing for general elections.
Other Important Campaign Finance Reforms. H.R. 1 also includes strong measures to close loopholes in federal campaign disclosure rules, curb foreign funds in U.S. elections, and fix the Federal Election Commission, our nation’s dysfunctional campaign finance regulator.
Gerrymandering Reform. H.R. 1 would curb extreme partisan gerrymandering by ensuring that states draw congressional districts using independent redistricting commissions whose members represent diverse communities across the state, by establishing fair redistricting criteria, and by mandating greater transparency for the redistricting process.
Election Security. H.R. 1 also contains a number of provisions to improve election security, including a requirement that states replace paperless voting machines, new grants to help states enhance election security on an ongoing basis and develop better processes for auditing disputed election results, and new security requirements for election system vendors (including an obligation to report cybersecurity breaches).
Ethics Reform. Finally, H.R. 1 shores up government ethics by strengthening enforcement of ethics rules in the Executive Branch, requiring disclosure of presidential tax returns, tightening restrictions on congressional conflicts of interest, and requiring the Supreme Court to adopt a code of ethics.
www.brennancenter.org/blog/historic-bill-strengthen-democracy-introduced-congress
You may be wondering how Congress can make states take the electoral actions included in this bill. Well, in 1970 Congress passed an amendment to the Voting Rights Act that required states to allow voters 18 years of age or older to vote in all federal, state, and local elections. The context was the Vietnam War, and the draft of millions of young men aged 18-21 who had no opportunity to vote for the President or Members of Congress who were sending them off to fight and possibly die. In Oregon v. Mitchell decision, decided quickly that year, the Supreme Court struck down the provisions pertaining to state and local elections, but upheld those applicable to federal elections. The conflict between federal and state laws would have meant separate ballots in many states, and overall made elections administration more complicated and difficult than it already is. So, in 1971 Congress passed the 26th Amendment mandating a minimum voting age of not more than 18 for all US elections; it was ratified within about 13 weeks, the fastest ever.
As part of "tightening restrictions on congressional conflicts of interest" the bill would prohibit Members from serving on corporate boards. Probably most Americans do not know that Members can--and often do--hold such positions, despite the obvious point that it's virtually impossible to avoid a conflict of interest in such cases. This comes in response to the indictment of Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY) on insider trading charges because he used information from a WH briefing to tell his son to dump shares in a pharmaceutical company before that information--on a pending government action that would hurt the firm's stock value--before it became public. It's worth noting that Collins is both the biggest shareholder and a board member of the company, which is based in Australia, while sitting on the Energy and Commerce Committee, which has direct oversight responsibility for the pharmaceutical industry. You know, a conflict of interest.
I'm so glad they're taking up these issues. Now that we're past the election and House transition I soon will be posting my own ideas on things we can do to make the US government work better.
Streamlining Voter Registration. H.R. 1 would bring Automatic and Same-Day Voter Registration to voters across the country. Automatic Voter Registration (AVR) is a transformative reform under which eligible voters are automatically registered when they provide information to the government at the DMV or other government agencies, unless they opt out. Since 2015, 15 states and the District of Columbia have approved AVR, leading to big gains in registration. If adopted nationwide, AVR could add as many as 50 million new voters to the rolls. Same-Day Registration (SDR) allows eligible voters to register at the polls on Election Day, making it less likely that voters will be disenfranchised by last-minute registration problems. It is already offered in 16 states. Combined with AVR, SDR would solve most of the serious registration problems voters experienced in 2016 and 2018.
Commitment to Restore the Voting Rights Act. H.R. 1 reaffirms Congress’s commitment to restore the full protections of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, the landmark civil rights law that was hobbled by the Supreme Court’s 2013 Shelby County decision. Shelby County enabled states to pass a wave of restrictive voting measures and set the stage for the brazen attempts at voter suppression we saw in 2018. The bill makes clear that Congress is committed to reversing the effects of the Supreme Court’s decision.
Nationwide Early Voting. H.R. 1 also would ensure that all voters have at least two weeks of early voting, including evening and weekend hours. Early voting, which is offered in most but not all states, boosts turnout for those who may have difficulty getting to the polls — such as working Americans and those providing childcare — and reduces long lines on Election Day. It also provides an important protection for election integrity by allowing officials to spot and address problems well in advance of Election Day. Early voting is extremely popular with voters and helped fuel record-breaking turnout in 2018.
Citizen-Funded Elections. H.R. 1 would create a small-donor matching system for Congressional races and revamp the matching system for presidential contests. Small-donor matching is an innovative reform that uses public funds to amplify small private donations. The bill would provide qualified presidential and congressional candidates with $6 in public funds for every $1 raised from small donors. A similar program has existed for decades in New York City, where it has diversified the donor pool, helped candidates of modest means run for office, and allowed elected officials to spend more time talking to their constituents instead of dialing for dollars. The bill also increases presidential public financing for general elections.
Other Important Campaign Finance Reforms. H.R. 1 also includes strong measures to close loopholes in federal campaign disclosure rules, curb foreign funds in U.S. elections, and fix the Federal Election Commission, our nation’s dysfunctional campaign finance regulator.
Gerrymandering Reform. H.R. 1 would curb extreme partisan gerrymandering by ensuring that states draw congressional districts using independent redistricting commissions whose members represent diverse communities across the state, by establishing fair redistricting criteria, and by mandating greater transparency for the redistricting process.
Election Security. H.R. 1 also contains a number of provisions to improve election security, including a requirement that states replace paperless voting machines, new grants to help states enhance election security on an ongoing basis and develop better processes for auditing disputed election results, and new security requirements for election system vendors (including an obligation to report cybersecurity breaches).
Ethics Reform. Finally, H.R. 1 shores up government ethics by strengthening enforcement of ethics rules in the Executive Branch, requiring disclosure of presidential tax returns, tightening restrictions on congressional conflicts of interest, and requiring the Supreme Court to adopt a code of ethics.
www.brennancenter.org/blog/historic-bill-strengthen-democracy-introduced-congress
You may be wondering how Congress can make states take the electoral actions included in this bill. Well, in 1970 Congress passed an amendment to the Voting Rights Act that required states to allow voters 18 years of age or older to vote in all federal, state, and local elections. The context was the Vietnam War, and the draft of millions of young men aged 18-21 who had no opportunity to vote for the President or Members of Congress who were sending them off to fight and possibly die. In Oregon v. Mitchell decision, decided quickly that year, the Supreme Court struck down the provisions pertaining to state and local elections, but upheld those applicable to federal elections. The conflict between federal and state laws would have meant separate ballots in many states, and overall made elections administration more complicated and difficult than it already is. So, in 1971 Congress passed the 26th Amendment mandating a minimum voting age of not more than 18 for all US elections; it was ratified within about 13 weeks, the fastest ever.
As part of "tightening restrictions on congressional conflicts of interest" the bill would prohibit Members from serving on corporate boards. Probably most Americans do not know that Members can--and often do--hold such positions, despite the obvious point that it's virtually impossible to avoid a conflict of interest in such cases. This comes in response to the indictment of Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY) on insider trading charges because he used information from a WH briefing to tell his son to dump shares in a pharmaceutical company before that information--on a pending government action that would hurt the firm's stock value--before it became public. It's worth noting that Collins is both the biggest shareholder and a board member of the company, which is based in Australia, while sitting on the Energy and Commerce Committee, which has direct oversight responsibility for the pharmaceutical industry. You know, a conflict of interest.
I'm so glad they're taking up these issues. Now that we're past the election and House transition I soon will be posting my own ideas on things we can do to make the US government work better.
