WASHINGTON DC- Representative Mike Gallagher today issued the following statement after voting against the latest attempt by congressional Democrats to pass legislation that would federalize U.S. elections:

“The states, not the federal government, have authority over our elections. The Democrats are attempting a sweeping power grab that, if successful, will destroy our electoral system by nationalizing the elections and destroy the Senate by neutralizing the filibuster. The entire effort is based on a dangerous lie that state legislatures are engaged in racist voter suppression.President Biden repeated that big lie Tuesday in a reckless speech that was under the president’s desk.I urge the president to abandon this crazy progressive plan and focus on the real issues affecting the people of Wisconsin.”

The bill includes a number of sweeping provisions that would create confusion and mistrust in elections, by:

• Turn the United States Attorney General into an unelected and unaccountable “election czar” with the power to change state election law and circumvent state constitutional processes.
• Create a nationwide approval process for existing voter ID laws, requiring every state with a voter ID law to submit its existing statutes to the new Election Czar for approval.
• Imposing new restrictions on states’ efforts to keep their voter registration lists clean and accurate by weakening and restricting states’ ability to maintain accurate voter lists, which would allow ineligible people to vote in many States.
• Require every state and political subdivision to submit voter integrity laws to bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. for approval and impose a new formula designed to subject every state to preclearance for all changes to election law.
• Creating 6:1 funding matches small donor contributions of $200 or less, meaning that for every $200, the federal government would contribute $1,200.
• Severely limits free speech and imposes vague standards that disadvantage all groups wishing to advocate on behalf of any legislative issue, specifically requiring them to release the names of donors who donate above a certain threshold.
• Mandating automatic voter registration by requiring DMVs and other entities to report information for automatic voter registration without the necessary safeguards, allowing ineligible voters to register.
• Require states to allow same-day registration, allow a minimum of 15 days of early voting, and accept ballots received 7 days after Election Day.
• Require all states to hold specific early voting times and operate early voting locations in mandated locations.