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March 04, 2021 | Press Releases

Steube Votes Against Unconstitutional Democrat Plan to Federalize Elections and Threaten Free Speech

WASHINGTON, D.C.— U.S. Representative Greg Steube (R-Fla.) yesterday voted against H.R. 1, the For the People Act.

“Democrats want to force the American people to pay for their campaigns with taxpayer dollars while telling states like Florida they have to end voter ID laws in violation of Article 1, section 4 of the U.S. Constitution,” Steube said. “Americans do not want their tax dollars going to fund political contributions and, after the election integrity issues we faced in the presidential election, the last thing we should be doing is ending requirements for voter identification.”

The legislation contains harmful provisions such as:

– Federalizing elections, so states like Florida would be forced to adopt the same, failed and unconstitutional systems of blue states like California;

– Spending hard-earned taxpayer dollar to fund campaigns, even if it means people’s tax dollars will fund candidates they do not support;

– Making permanent COVID-19 changes, like the expansion of mail-in voting without proper address verification;

– Limiting free speech and disadvantaging groups who wish to advocate on behalf of any legislative issue;

– Politicizing the Federal Election Commission (FEC), thereby giving one political party control over free speech and campaigns during elections;

– Getting rid of voter ID laws, which overturns commonsense election security measures;

– Inhibiting the President from using their political appointees to assist in matters in which the President is named a party, thereby interfering with their ability to perform their Constitutional duty;

– Violating state’s rights and federally mandating that convicted felons receive their right to vote upon completing their sentences.

The For the People Act was written without any input from Republican Members of Congress. A similar bill passed the House last Congress with no Republican support.

Steube stood up for election integrity earlier this Congress by rejecting some states’ electoral votes due to clear irregularities, improprieties, and Constitutional violations in the 2020 presidential election. Steube has expressed opposition to the For the People Act since its reintroduction this Congress.

The full text of the legislation can be found here.

Steube has joined colleagues on the Republican Study Committee (RSC) in developing legislative solutions for election integrity. In January, they introduced the Save Democracy Act, legislation that is designed to work with the individual states to create constitutional baseline safeguards against voter fraud and election irregularities.

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