Washington, March 3, 2021 – Today Congressman Bill Posey (R-Rockledge) spoke out against radical legislation moving through the House to drastically alter U.S. elections and strip state legislatures of their authority to run their own elections. Posey offered three amendments to ensure the integrity of elections and make the legislation more accountable, but none were allowed to be debated or voted on.
“This eight-hundred-page bill was written behind closed doors and allows for a complete takeover of our elections by the federal government and creates massive loopholes that are ripe for fraud and abuse,” said Congressman Posey. “The bill eliminates many election safeguards like voter ID laws which many European and other countries recently adopted to make their elections more secure. Americans deserve honest, fair and transparent elections – unfortunately this bill moves in the other direction.”
Specifically, H.R. 1 – cosponsored by every Democrat in the House – gives the federal government unprecedented power over our elections and codifies some dangerous election practices via federal mandate. Specifically, this legislation:
- Bans state voter-ID laws nationwide
- Repeals virtually all state election fraud prevention laws
- Mandates state universal mail-in ballots while prohibiting witness signatures
- Requires all states to allow ballot harvesting so that political operatives or special interest groups collect and turn in ballots
- Allows ballots arriving after Election Day to be counted up to 10 days after said election
- Creates a recipe for fraud by mandating same day registration while banning ID laws
- Funds campaigns with $6 taxpayer dollars for each $1 in campaign donations
- Takes everything wrong with the 2020 election and mandates it nationwide
Congressman Posey offered three amendments: (1) prohibiting voting machines from connecting to the Internet, (2) requiring election hardware and software be American made, and (3) ensuring that election machines are fully auditable and that elections officials could no longer deny audits due to proprietary software or hardware issues. Unfortunately, these amendments were blocked and not allowed to be voted on by the House.
The Inspector General of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission shared in a letter to Congressman Posey, “EAC Believes Michigan may use modem transmission features in at least some of its Dominion voting systems.” Which contradicts earlier assertions made by the maker of the Dominion Voting System, “…Voting systems are by design meant to be used as closed systems that are not networked meaning they are not connected to the internet.”
“Why should the votes of the American people be subject to counting by foreign equipment that cannot be audited and that may be connected to the Internet? My amendments would promote election security by banning all three of these things,” said Posey.
Read Rep. Posey’s Floor Statement Opposing H.R. 1 below:
I rise today to express my strong opposition to H.R. 1 and my great disappointment that the Majority refused to allow my commonsense amendments to be offered to this bill. This bill was written behind closed doors and though Members of Congress offered over 180 amendments to improve this bill only 7Republican amendmentswere allowed to be offered on the House floor. That is a travesty for Congress and the American people who want and deserve honest and transparent elections. This bill bans voter identification laws and mandates States implement mail-in voting both of which will lead to massive election fraud. Even European countries have rejected these failed policies due to fraud.
While serving in the Florida Senate I was tasked with reforming Florida’s election laws following the 2000 election and chaos that ensued. Having tackled election reform in the aftermath of an uncertain election, I know firsthand how important it is to restore confidence and eliminate existing grey areas that may lead to fraud or raise questions about fairness.
Events surrounding the 2020 election raised questions from my constituents about the operation and certification of voting machines used throughout our state and the nation. Chief among those concerns was whether our voting machines are connected to the internet and vulnerable to manipulation through hacking. To answer these and other questions I contacted the U.S. Election Assistance Commission which certifies voting hardware and software for use in our elections.
In her letter to me, the Inspector General of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission addressed this topic stating that the “EAC believes Michigan may use modem transmission features in at least some of its Dominion voting systems.” This is in direct conflict with assertions by the maker of the Dominion Voting System who stated, “…Voting systems are by design meant to be used as closed systems that are not networked meaning they are not connected to the Internet.”
To end the confusion on this issue and restore confidence in our system, I filed an amendment that would prohibit voting systems from being connected to the Internet. Specifically, stating that no system or device upon which ballots are programmed or votes are cast or tabulated shall be connected to the Internet at any time. That would ensure the integrity of voting machines. Unfortunately, that amendment was not allowed to be debated and voted on.
My second amendment would ensure that election machines are fully auditable – no longer would election officials and election equipment providers deny full audits of elections due to proprietary software or hardware. The America people have a right to a full audit of any election to ensure the full integrity of elections. There is no good reason to oppose this amendment but, again, it was not allowed to be debated and voted on.
And my third amendment would have prohibited the use of voting systems produced by a foreign entity. It would also require all components of the voting systems be manufactured and maintained in the United States. Why should the votes of the American people be subject to counting using foreign equipment, that cannot be audited and that may be connected to the Internet? My amendments would ban all three of these things.
By denying elected Members of Congress a vote on these amendments, Speaker Pelosi decided against providing full transparency and accountability in our federal elections. This partisan bill should be rejected.
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