President Joe Biden has claimed so often that the return of former President Donald Trump represents an existential threat to democracy that it has become virtually his only argument for voters to return him to office.
But a closer examination of how each president actually supported our electoral system during their respective terms puts this argument in serious doubt.
During President Trump’s administration, Congress appropriated between $380 million (fiscal year 2018) and $425 million (fiscal year 2020) to meet America’s election infrastructure needs through the US Election Security Grants. Help America Vote Act (HAVA). Fast forward to the Biden administration, and that level of commitment has fallen precipitously to just $75 million in fiscal years 2022 and 2023.
And this year, the most recent, last-minute budget bill passed by Congress included only $55 million for election security.
But President Biden hasn’t just woefully defunded programs designed to strengthen states’ election systems. He has also acted to subvert the entire electoral system. On March 7, 2021, President Joe Biden directed agencies in his administration to use federal funds appropriated by Congress for the operation of their agencies to “promote voter registration and participation.” .
And of course, just coincidence, that undue influence has been felt disproportionately among demographic groups favoring President Biden’s re-election in 2024.
The effects of this executive order have already been felt here in Kansas.
According to Krista Postai, executive director of the left-wing nonprofit Vot-ER, federal dollars were funneled through her organization to FQHC in southeastern Kansas and used to send 65,000 text messages to influence the referendum. of the Value Them Both amendment of 2022. She proudly concluded in a webinar about her efforts: “As you can see, we had an impact.”
As a Kansas state representative, chairman of the House Elections Committee, and professor of homeland security at Wichita State University, I have serious concerns about the security challenges facing our dedicated election officials and poll workers.
Particularly in our many regions and rural communities, election offices lack some of the most basic resources they need, not only to prepare for and counter the security threats they face, but simply to manage the electoral process efficiently and effectively.
I am even more concerned about President Joe Biden’s unconstitutional attempt to divert funds appropriated by Congress to fund health care, food benefits and other social programs to put his thumb on the scale and influence the 2024 presidential election.
My concerns only increased last month when the bill we passed to try to stop this inappropriate activity in Kansas, House Bill 2618, was vetoed by Democratic Governor Laura Kelly.
Electoral security is national security. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security designated America’s election infrastructure as “critical infrastructure” in 2017. If we expect our election workers and officials to do their jobs and keep our elections safe and secure, then we must ensure they have all the tools. and resources necessary for it.
The paltry $55 million Congress allocated for election security in fiscal year 2024, roughly $1 million to each state, is not enough. The way to ensure our electoral system remains secure is to return to Trump-era funding levels, authorized through the people’s representatives in Congress, and stop the subversion of our electoral processes through extraconstitutional misappropriation of funds designed to favor a party.
Pat Proctor, R-Leavenworth, was elected to the Kansas House of Representatives in 2020, where he represents District 41 as chairman of the House Elections Committee.
Keynote USA
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