By Rita Cook
Correspondent
Texas Metro News
WASHINGTON D.C. – Markwayne Mullin, a Senator from Oklahoma said “You can’t get a bank account, a job, you can’t fly, you can’t get a loan, you can’t drive, you can’t even sign up for government benefits unless you have an ID, but somehow when it comes to voting it is going to limit the ability for people to vote if they need an ID.”
This is a very neophyte comment to open with this week, but in its simplicity, Mullin makes a thought provoking observation.
However, let us remember nothing is ever black or white and certainly not this contentions topic argued by both sides of the aisle.
Last week a federal judge jammed up blocked Pres. Donald Trump’s “wide-ranging” election executive order by blocking some federal agencies from requesting citizenship status when distributing voter registration forms.
Agencies are not allowed to “assess citizenship” before providing a federal voter registration form to people enrolling in public assistance programs.
The Secretary of Defense also cannot require documentary proof of citizenship when military personnel register to vote or request ballots.
U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly appointed by former President Bill Clinton ruled the Constitution’s separation of powers, giving states and to an extent Congress authority over setting election rules, are at the heart of the case.
Kollar-Kotelly ruled that the “Constitution does not allow the President to impose unilateral changes to federal election procedures.”
Danielle Lang, a voting rights expert with the Campaign Legal Center added “Our democracy works best when all Americans can participate, including members of our military and their families living overseas. Today’s ruling removes a very real threat to the freedom to vote for overseas military families and upholds the separation of powers.”
The White House has already said this will not be the last word on this topic.
A White House spokesperson added “Ensuring only citizens vote in our elections is a commonsense measure that everyone should be able to support.”
Last week Republican lawmakers introduced two new bills that are in step with Trump election agenda.
These bills included chair of the House Administration Committee, U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil’s “Make Elections Great Again Act” to consider how elections are run, the use of mail voting, and setting a national photo ID requirement for voting.
This bill would ban universal vote-by-mail, prohibiting states from accepting mail ballots that arrive after Election Day, stop anyone except the voter, an immediate family member, or caregiver from possessing the voter’s ballot, require states to provide hand-marked paper ballots, and outlaw ranked-choice voting, if applicable.
Sen. Mike Lee and Rep. Chip Roy introduced “Save America Act, designed to combine a photo ID requirement for voters alongside the current “Save Act” bill passed requiring Americans prove their citizenship when registering to vote, require voters to provide photo ID, and regularly require states to check their voter rolls for noncitizens.
These bills would also mean more work for election officials since voting procedures would change due to new requirements.
