Earlier today, the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution held a hearing on the Voting Rights Act. Unsurprisingly, the Democrats pushed the same, tired talking points about voter discrimination that they always do.
First, the Democrat members of the committee and their witnesses claimed that increasingly-popular state voter ID requirements were racist. The Heritage Foundation's Hans von Spakovsky debunked this myth.
IS VOTER ID RACIST?
— The Daily Signal (@DailySignal) September 22, 2021
No. @HVonSpakovsky explains that EVERY STATE requiring ID to vote offers a FREE ID to keep it easy to vote—and turnout numbers show it has NO “suppressive” effect. pic.twitter.com/Pc9FUDQECw
"Enhancing the integrity of the election process through reforms such as voter ID requirements and improvements to the accuracy of voter registration lists protects voters and is not voter suppression." @HvonSpakovsky
— RNLA ⚖️ (@TheRepLawyer) September 22, 2021
The Democrats also made it seem like the proposed practice-based clearance provision in H.R. 4 would somehow make things more "equal" among the states. The reality is that it would make things equally-bad everywhere, especially considering that the partisan Voting Rights Section of the DOJ would have authority over the states' voting laws.
.@SenatorLeahy implies that practice-based coverage is a good policy because it treats states "equally." The reality is that it would treat states equally-bad and give the federal government control over states' elections.
— RNLA ⚖️ (@TheRepLawyer) September 22, 2021
The DOJ rejected Kinston, NC's change to have nonpartisan elections. Bureaucrats claimed that without a "D" by their name black voters would not know who to vote for. They played partisan politics with preclearance power in the past and will do so again if HR4 passes! @SenTedCruz pic.twitter.com/DdxPPsZBpU
— PublicInterestLegal (@PILFoundation) September 22, 2021
#HR4 "is all about giving unelected bureaucrats the ability to stop any and all reasonable voter integrity laws." @SenTedCruz
— RNLA ⚖️ (@TheRepLawyer) September 22, 2021
Unsurprisingly, Senator Whitehouse was there to discuss his usual, tinfoil hat "dark money" conspiracies.
If we are talking about voting, why is @SenWhitehouse focusing on a judicial group, @JCN, and not a major dark money actor in elections such as @marceelias?
— RNLA ⚖️ (@TheRepLawyer) September 22, 2021
If @SenWhitehouse has concerns about dark money influencing the election integrity debate, he should take a look at the liberal dark money groups (funded by foreign billionaires) trying to gut voter ID with HR 4. https://t.co/0P5MTrvGSA
— Honest Elections Project (@honestelections) September 22, 2021
While today's hearing was on H.R. 4, expect more on the Freedom to Vote Act (a.k.a. the "Freedom to Cheat Act") in the coming days.
Joe Manchin said he would only support an election bill with a voter ID requirement.
— Honest Elections Project (@honestelections) September 22, 2021
But the Freedom to Vote Act doesn’t do that: it bars states from requiring photo ID, and bans ID requirements for absentee voting. pic.twitter.com/qBViesQbJi