Andy Biggs: “I thank my colleague for leading this Special Order. Madam Speaker, I want to speak to two specific aspects of this.…”

“I thank my colleague for leading this Special Order. Madam Speaker, I want to speak to two specific aspects of this. First of all, I rise in opposition to H.R. 1, the sweeping unconstitutional attack on the electoral system that it represents. It would federalize our electoral system and usurp the authority of States and their citizens to manage their own elections by imposing unnecessary and unconstitutional restrictions that interfere with their fundamental democratic rights. H.R. 1 would restrict freedom of speech and undermine Americans' constitutional rights under the First Amendment by increasing the power of the Federal Government to regulate and control political speech. It would criminalize a vast range of legal activities, increase government censorship, and impose an enormous administrative compliance burden on candidates that would make it harder for everyday Americans to participate in our political system and even run for office. It would also weaken important safeguards to ensure the integrity of our electoral system and guarantee that every American vote is counted and protected. This could expose future elections to greater risk of cyber manipulation and mass voter fraud. It could limit the ability of election officials to ensure that only eligible voter votes are counted and cripple the effectiveness of State voter ID laws.…”