Palmer Against Democrat Bill to Federalize Elections

For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Elizabeth Hance (202) 225-4921

Palmer Against Democrat Bill to Federalize Elections

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Gary Palmer (AL-06) will vote against H.R. 1, a bill that undermines Americans' right to self-government and public confidence in the country's election system. Palmer released the following statement:

"This bill puts the hypocrisy of the Democrat majority on full display in two ways. First, there is nothing in the bill to deal with the inaccurate voter registration rolls that have been reported to hold 24 million improper voter registrations. The 1993 National Voter Registration Act, which was passed by Democrat majorities in both houses of Congress, requires that every state and county maintain accurate voter registration files. There are currently 17 Democrat members of Congress who voted for that bill, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. They have done nothing to enforce the law they passed.

Palmer continued, "In addition to allowing millions of improper voter registrations, the Democrats are also putting in place a provision to give millions of dollars to the reelection campaigns of incumbent members of Congress at a match rate of $6 for every dollar raised, for a match of up to $7.2 million per incumbent member. Consider this – just a few weeks ago, the Democrats stripped my colleague, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, of her committee assignments. But now, they seem to believe that though she isn't allowed to serve on any standing committees, she should receive taxpayer-financed campaign contributions. Based on the formula in the bill and what Representative Greene has raised already, she would receive over $7 million. In an act of rank hypocrisy, every Democrat who voted to strip Representative Greene of her committee assignments turned around and co-sponsored this bill to give her reelection campaign over $7 million dollars."

"No one who truly wants honest and fair elections can vote for H.R. 1," Palmer said. "It takes the power of electing our leaders away from the people and puts more power into the hands of politicians. It disregards state voter I.D. laws and ultimately amounts to a federal takeover of our elections. Perhaps most concerning is that it would force taxpayers to foot the bill for political campaigns, creating a ruling class that undermines representative government. It will be government of, by, and for the politicians who run the government, but not for the people the government is supposed to serve."

Watch Congressman Palmer's floor remarks on H.R. 1 here.

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