Worries about President Biden’s meddling in the November 2024 presidential election are gaining in popularity among GOP election officials as America gets closer to the election.
Secretaries of State Mac Warner of West Virginia and Michael Watson of Mississippi have been in the news about the results” Bidenbucks” will have on the state and local election administration of 2024. Signed by Biden in March 2021, Executive Order 14019 , directed , hundreds of national agencies to , interfere , in the political process by using U. S. payer dollars to increase voter registration and obtain- out- the- vote activities.
Under the edict, each department was directed , to review” a proper plan” explaining how it intended to fulfill Biden’s order, and to cooperate with consequently- called “nonpartisan next- party organizations” that have been “approved” by the administration to provide “voter registration services on agency premises”. Many of these “nonpartisan” groups colluding with national agencies on voting subscription efforts have since been revealed to be , really left- aircraft, quite as the , ACLU , and , Demos.
Federal agencies such as the Justice Department have regularly stonewalled requests for documents related to the order’s implementation, even going as far as to , heavily redact , records ordered for release by a federal court. During a recent phone call, a White House official purportedly admitted to Watson that the administration “never intended for]agencies ‘ strategic plans to be public.”
Warner decided to adopt a policy that would prohibit his office from accepting voter registration forms collected by federal agents in response to the infringement on states ‘ ability to run elections that were free of federal interference. Warner cited Article 1 Section 4 of the U. S. Constitution, which , stipulates , that the” Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof”.
Watson told The Federalist last week his office will be adopting Warner’s approach.
]READ: Why West Virginia’s Secretary Of State Won’t Follow Biden’s ‘ Illegal Directives ‘ Federalizing Elections]
The Federalist spoke with other top state GOP election officials to find out if they will follow suit and reject voter registration forms collected by federal agents in light of Warner and Watson’s commitment to stymying federal interference in state election administration.
The Granite State “has a statutory process for voter registration that does not include federal agencies collecting voter registration applications,” according to New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan, and Biden’s executive order” will not apply in New Hampshire.”
Scanlan added that his office” will not accept any federal agent voter registration forms.”
Wes Allen, the secretary of state for Alabama, also made a pledge to stop potential violations of Executive Order 14019, which he described as” an illegal directive that attempts to circumvent established law” and represents a federal takeover of voter registration.
” At this time, I am unaware of any actual EO14019 illegal efforts being undertaken in the State of Alabama”, Allen said. I can assure you that I will fully uphold my Oath of Office and apply the law in the event that illegal activity is discovered in Alabama, even if it is directed by the White House.
Director of Communications Laney Rawls responded when asked whether this “illegal activity” that Allen had promised not to tolerate would include federal agencies collecting and submitting voter registrations:” Alabama has authorized by law only those entities specifically included in the Code of Alabama to serve as voter registration agencies” and that “nowhere in Alabama law are federal agencies designated as voter registration agencies.”
” Therefore, any federal agencies operating as designated voter registration agencies in Alabama are operating illegally”, she added.
Wyoming’s Chuck Gray, the state’s secretary of state, stated to The Federalist that” Wyoming Statute enumerates the registration process through the state and counties, not unelected, federal bureaucracies,” and that” Wyoming does not and will not accept the National Mail Voter Registration Form.”
” The United States Constitution clearly stipulates that election administration, including registration, shall be prescribed by state law, not unlawful, unconstitutional, and overreaching executive orders, like Executive Order 14019″, Gray said. Regardless of what kind of form they are, the Republican secretary did not immediately respond to The Federalist’s request for comment. Does this mean that his office will reject voter registration forms that were collected and submitted by federal agents?
Other Republican election officials claimed to The Federalist that their respective state laws forbid them from implementing Warner’s policy.
Election Specialist Lee Ann Oliver responded on behalf of North Dakota Secretary of State Michael Howe to The Federalist by stating that” North Dakota is the only state that does not have voter registration” and that the question of whether Howe will reject voter registration forms collected by federal agents “does not pertain to our state” is unrelated to our state.
In 1951, the Peace Garden State officially declared voter registration outlawed. Voters are required to present an acceptable form of identification when casting a ballot. Once election officials use the voting list from the election board, the voter is then given the right to cast a ballot.
Press Secretary Benjamin Kindel in the meantime confirmed to The Federalist that the office of Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose would accept voter registration forms that had been collected and submitted by federal officials. According to the Ohio Election Official Manual, a” completed voter registration form on behalf of another” can be returned to the secretary’s office or a local election board in 10 days.
The processing of these registration forms is done at the local level, Kindel said. Ohio has a decentralized system.
Unlike most states, in which elections are overseen by a secretary of state, South Carolina’s elections are administered by a state board. Even if it was determined that federal agents had collected and submitted to local election officials, the South Carolina State Election Commission’s public information officer, John Michael Catalano, said the body would accept voter registration applications.
According to Catalano,” state law requires county election officials to accept and process completed voter registration applications for eligible South Carolina residents,” even though we are not aware of federal agents ‘ submissions to election officials in South Carolina. Any person found guilty of perjury and faces the consequences for doing so under the law.
The Federalist’s inquiry was acknowledged by the offices of Secretaries of State Jay Ashcroft of Missouri, Cord Byrd of Florida, and Nancy Landry of Louisiana, but they did not comment until it was time for publication.
Leading Republican election officials from Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia did not respond to The Federalist’s request for comment on whether they will adopt Warner’s policy of rejecting voter registration forms collected by federal agents.
Al Schmidt, the secretary of state of Pennsylvania, is a defendant in a lawsuit challenging the legality of Executive Order 14019, which is not mentioned in The Federalist’s inquiry. Filed by members of the Pennsylvania Freedom Caucus, the suit argues that the” Bidenbucks” order violates the U. S. Constitution. Plaintiffs filed an appeal with the U. S. Supreme Court on Tuesday.
Six of the officials who did not respond or provide comment by the deadline signed onto a letter Biden was sent in August 2022 requesting his rescind Executive Order 14019. Those signatories included Secretaries Brad Raffensperger of Georgia, John Thurston of Arkansas, Cord Byrd of Florida, Christi Jacobsen of Montana, Bob Evnen of Nebraska, and Tre Hargett of Tennessee.
Warner of West Virginia, Watson of Mississippi, and LaRose of Ohio were also among those who signed the letter.
Shawn Fleetwood is a University of Mary Washington graduate and a staff writer for The Federalist. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClear Health, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
