Congress in perspective: H.R. 1 – The liberal

H.R. 1,  or the “For the People Act,” – proposed by the Democrats – offers numerous methods to facilitate voting for people in America. One of the more effective provisions is a two-week period of mandating early voting. As seen in the 2020 election, ensuring a variety of times for people to vote allows workers who cannot take off, caregivers, students and really anyone with a stricter schedule a chance to exercise their civic duty without having to suffer economically, academically or otherwise. Both Democrats and Republicans have jobs, both Democrats and Republicans go to school and both Democrats and Republicans have unexpected events come up. This provision is, therefore, a win-win for both parties. 

The rest of it, however, gets a little more complicated. The bill mandates that states allow for mail-in voting without an excuse (which, despite false claims that led to an insurrection, was very secure in the 2020 election). It also does not permit states to require a notarized signature for an absentee ballot, or require an ID to request one. 

I worked the polls in the 2020 election and ordered them to verify the voters’ identities. If there was a discrepancy, the computer flagged the voter in the system, and they were required to fill out a provisional ballot or provide an ID depending on the situation. In short, voter fraud does not happen on a widespread scale.

If we wanted to increase the security of already-secure elections, voter IDs could be an option. However, why make it a bureaucratic nightmare in order for someone to change their ID? Why can't the government just send someone their ID for free, allow for same-day voter registration and make it easy to replace if you lose it? Why can't transgender people fill out an online form and be automatically sent a new ID that corresponds with their gender  identity? If bureaucracy actually worked, any complaints about election security would be solved.