United States Senator Mike Crapo - Idaho
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**DROPPING IN THIS ISSUE:**
- An Attack on States' Rights: Federal
Election Laws
- Sound Immigration Reform
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Over the last few weeks, I have heard from many Idahoans
expressing their concerns with H.R. 1 and S. 1, the "For the People
Act."
I share these concerns.
This patently unconstitutional
legislation looks a lot more like a "For the Bureaucrats" bill.
It would
circumvent our entire elections process and stifle freedom of
speech.
H.R. 1 would federalize our election process and strip states of
election authorities guaranteed to them by the U.S.
Constitution.
Participation in the electoral process is one of the most fundamental rights
enjoyed by Americans.
Elections are scheduled in accordance with the
needs of a community and laws governing how and when those votes can take
place.
Under our Constitution, states have jurisdiction over their
own elections, not the federal government.
This bill would mandate
a one-size-fits-all process that removes that constitutional authority
from states and hands it over to Washington bureaucrats.
If passed,
this bill would:
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Keep people who have died or moved on local
voter registration files, undermining election accuracy;
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Insert
further potential for fraud into the elections process by allowing
trafficking by permitting paid political operatives to go door-to-door
collecting thousands of ballots and delivering them--unsupervised--to a
county clerk;
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Force states like Idaho to abandon any form of
voter identification;
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Infringe on freedom of speech by requiring
private citizens' political donations to be published, pressuring
voters supporting minority causes to stay silent; and
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Allow ballots
to be counted up to 10 days after election day, eroding confidence in
the electoral system across the country immediately after an election
cycle in which more than one-third of Americans already did not trust
[link 1]their vote counted.
Moreover, the legislation includes a
number of other partisan power grabs that have absolutely nothing to do
with voting rights, including:
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Politicizing the bipartisan
Federal Elections Commission by reducing its membership from six to five
commissioners;
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Using taxpayer funds to match private campaign
donations at a 6-to-1 taxpayer-to-donor ratio for donations under $200,
injecting greater federal government influence into election outcomes;
and
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A provision to grant Statehood to the District of
Columbia, which violates Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution that
provides for a 'federal district' distinct from the states to ensure the
nation's capital is not subject to political pressure from state or
local government.
Idaho has already implemented efforts to increase
voter turnout:
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Same-day voter registration with proof of
residence; and
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No-excuse absentee and early voting.
Mandating that
other states do the same is a violation of state sovereignty.
States
are best equipped to implement and enforce election policies that
protect the integrity of all future elections and restore Americans'
faith in our electoral system.
The Democrats' proposal is hardly a
voting rights bill.
Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of our
republic.
Further loss of confidence in our electoral system would be
catastrophic for our country, and this bill would compound confusion in
the election process.
I support the establishment of a commission to
study the last election and recommend meaningful reforms to protect
the integrity of our elections.
But, I will not support this bill and
a federal government power-grab of state election laws.
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The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the
Farm Workforce Modernization Act, which is not related to the current
border crisis.
Nevertheless, action on this legislation has
understandably made its way into current broader discussions about border security
and immigration reform.
The Farm Workforce Modernization Act aims to
provide needed improvements to the agriculture-labor component of our
nation's immigration system to provide a more reliable supply of
labor to our nation's agriculture producers in an improved process for
immigrants seeking to work in American agriculture.
Despite the
uncertainty of the pandemic of this past year and an ongoing farm labor
crisis, Idaho agriculture has kept supplying the food and goods needed
across our state, country and world.
I have committed to working to
produce a Senate solution to bring certainty to hard-working producers
and farmworkers who have sustained the nation long before and during
the COVID-19 pandemic.
As I work on these efforts, I will not support
granting those who enter the country illegally any advantage of
obtaining a green card, permanent status or citizenship over those who
followed the law.
Immigration reforms are long past due, and I look
forward to the work ahead to fix this part of our broken immigration system
for the betterment of Idaho agriculture and the Idahoans and other
consumers who rely on its resiliency.
You can read more in my recent
column via the Idaho Press here [link 2], or on my website here [link
3].
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Contact Information:
Website:
Offices:
239 Dirksen Senate
Building
Washington D.C., 20510
Phone: (202) 224-6142
Idaho Falls
410 Memorial Drive
Suite 205
Idaho Falls, ID 83402
Phone: (208)
522-9779
Boise
251 East Front Street
Suite 205
Boise, ID
83702
Phone: (208) 334-1776
Lewiston
313 'D' Street
Suite 105
Lewiston, ID 83501
Phone: (208) 743-1492
Caldwell
524 East
Cleveland Blvd.
Suite 220
Caldwell, ID 83605
Phone: (208) 455-0360
Pocatello
275 South 5th Avenue
Suite 100
Pocatello, ID 83201
Phone: (208) 236-6775
Coeur d' Alene
610 Hubbard Street
Suite
209
Coeur d' Alene, ID 83814
Phone: (208) 664-5490
Twin Falls
202 Falls Avenue
Suite 2
Twin Falls, ID 83301
Phone: (208)
734-2515
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