Ever since he left office, Democrats have been railing against President Trump and hurling accusations, even launching investigations into how they claim he had tried to influence the 2020 election.
As it turns out, however, new reporting has uncovered it is actually Joe Biden that has a “backdoor plan” to influence the upcoming midterms and 2024 elections!
With his voting rights agenda floundering, Biden is using the vast and powerful federal bureaucracy to register and mobilize voters nationwide. Last March, President Biden signed an executive order on “Promoting Access to Voting.” It directed federal agencies—more than 400 exist—to develop plans to “expand citizens’ opportunities to register to vote and to obtain information about, and participate in, the electoral process.” Everything from the Department of Defense to the Environmental Protection Agency to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is covered by this mandate. They must direct voters to state and federal registration websites, distribute registration and vote-by-mail applications, assist people in completing them, and allow third-party organizations to register voters on agency premises.
This is unprecedented. Federal officials serving a Democratic administration have effectively been drafted to participate in getting out the vote efforts whether they wish to or not. Their actions have the potential to affect the voting habits of tens of millions of people, if not more.
“Few things are more inappropriate for the federal government,” wrote Rep. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) in an Op-Ed published by The Hill.
Budd went on to write, “While that’s bad enough, what’s worse is that the White House is hiding the details. Agencies were given 200 days to submit their plans, yet since that deadline passed in September, hardly any information has been publicly released.”
While the White House has provided high-level descriptions of 14 department-level plans, the specifics are nowhere to be found. Even the top-line notes are deeply concerning. For instance, the Department of Education is preparing a “tool kit of resources and strategies” to be shared with 67 million students. That includes millions who are or will be of voting age by the 2022 and 2024 elections. The contents of that toolkit remain veiled.
Rep. Budd submitted a letter to the White House demanding details on the administration’s plans. Signed by 36 members of Congress, the letter outlines the major concerns posed by the president’s executive order.
First, why is the White House forcing agencies with no responsibility for enforcing election laws to become intimately involved with voting? That raises obvious concerns about political interference in elections using the federal government’s significant manpower and resources. Nothing like this has ever been attempted, and for good reason. It smacks of manipulation and partisan meddling.
Second, what third-party organizations will agencies allow on their premises? The executive order simply says they must be “approved” and “non-partisan,” yet that’s hardly exhaustive or even descriptive criteria. There is a disturbing possibility that ideologically motivated groups could get the nod since agencies are charged with “soliciting and facilitating” third-party involvement.
The congressional letter asks the Biden administration to provide copies of all agency plans created under the president’s executive order. The American people deserve to know what agencies are planning to do, what they are already doing, and why the federal government is doing anything like this at all.
