As the Biden administration goes about the legally suspect quest of federalizing get-out-the-vote efforts, more than a dozen U.S. senators are asking for an accounting of the “Promoting Access to Voting” campaign.
U.S. Senators Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Bill Haggerty (R-TN) are among the 14 Republican senators who sent a letter to Biden requesting full transparency on Executive Order 14019, which directs federal agencies to submit strategic plans to the White House describing how they will use taxpayer-funded resources to “provide access to voter registration services and vote-by-mail ballot applications.”
“First, while we all agree that increased voter participation is a good thing, the job of federal agencies is to perform their defined missions in a nonpartisan way, not use their taxpayer funds for clandestine voter mobilization and election-turnout operations,” the senators wrote.
As the federal government faces a looming debt ceiling disaster amid an exploding U.S. debt, Americans have a right to ask why the Biden administration is choosing to involve the federal government in voter activism.
Federal agencies, according to Biden’s order, could publicize information on mail-in ballots, solicit and assist in the registration of voters through third-party organizations and state officials, or serve as a voter registration entity under the National Voter Registration Act — if requested by a state.
That’s not the business of the federal government, critics of the order argue.
“This is especially true if such federally funded efforts involve partnering with nongovernmental organizations with unclear and potentially partisan motives and tactics,” the senators assert in the letter.
The Zuckerbucks affair comes to mind. Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg handed out hundreds of millions of dollars to the far left Center for Tech and Civic Life. Chicago-based CTCL, lead by former big shots tied to former President Barack Obama then gave out the “Zuckerbucks” in the form of “safe election” grants during the COVID-filled 2020 presidential election. The lion’s share of the money went to the largest Democrat-heavy cities in battleground states to be used for all manner of election-related purposes, including GOTV efforts targeting traditional Democratic Party voters.
While the White House has kept its plans mostly hidden, a Small Business Administration press release last year bragged that it was the “first federal agency to request designation as a voter agency.” SBA said it would use its district offices to provide “small business owners and others” with “the services they need to ensure their voices are heard at the ballot box and fair representation for their communities.”
The senators want to know, what kind of information and services are being provided at taxpayer-funded SBA offices and other federal agencies to advance these goals. Are these federal employees providing such services on taxpayer time?
“Executive Order 14019 directs more than 600 federal agencies to engage in voter registration and mobilization efforts, despite a lack of congressional appropriation or authorization for these agencies to engage in such activity,” the lawmakers letter states. “An officer or employee who violates the Antideficiency Act is subject to administrative and potential criminal penalties, which underscores the need for transparency regarding these plans.”
The senators have requested the following information by May 23:
1) Full copies of all federal agency “strategic plans” required under Section 3 and a list of which agencies have not yet submitted a strategic plan
2) The strategic plan required by the General Services Administration under Section 5
3) The recommendations provided by the Office of Personnel Management under Section
4) All procedures established by the Attorney General under Section 9
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M.D. Kittle is the National Political Editor for The Star News Network.
Photo “Bill Hagerty” by Bill Hagerty. Photo “Ron Johnson” by Ron Johnson.
