Dear Editor,

Know who and what you are voting for.
The simple statement that HR-1 is “a good start with putting elections back in the hands of all U.S. citizens” may sound simple, may sound good, but it is anything but.
Actually the 791-page legislative package does quite a bit more including taking control of elections from the States.
For background, the United States Constitution is clear. State governments have the authority to run their elections as they see fit, meaning the voters in Michigan through their elected legislators/governor decide how their elections are run, not the voters of New York, California or any of the other 47 states.
No one doubts whether suits will be brought to challenge HR-1 should HR-1 be pushed through.
However, the authors of HR-1 thought of that, too.
Any and all court challenges to this legislation will be required to be filed with the District Court for the District of Columbia.
Furthermore, there will be limits placed on plaintiff’s attorneys and filing papers.
How’s that for putting the elections back in the hands of the people?
To list all the problems with this 791-page legislation would clearly take a document of its own. And it would still not necessarily provide voters with all the information needed or are entitled to, so I urge all voters to get the facts before supporting any legislator and their vote.
As a starting point, I have listed about a dozen topics addressed in HR-1 without any comments. You can and should reach your own conclusions. These were identified in part in the March 10-16 issue of the Epoch Times.
You need to dig into these using your own sources.
I urge you to become familiar with the issues before the state’s right to control its own elections, our right as framed by the Founding Fathers, are taken from us by the federal government, by the current sitting Congress using HR-1 as their vehicle.
Some of my concerns:
· Gives the federal government the authority to administer elections.
· Limits plaintiff’s access to federal courts when challenging HR-1.
· Mandates automatic voter registration (AVR) in all 50 states. (19 states currently have AVR, Michigan is not one of them.)
· Prevents election officials from removing ineligible voters from registration or from confirming the eligibility and qualification of voters.
· Bans state voter ID laws.
· Ensures illegal immigrants can vote.
· Legalizes national mail-in voting without voter ID.
· Allows politicians to use campaign funds for personal use subject to some limits.
· Requires colleges and universities to hire a “campus vote coordinator.”
· Urges statehood for the District of Columbia and representation for territories.
This is not an exhaustive list by any means, but, hopefully, this will pique your interest enough to get you to dig into what your elected officials are up to.
“Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people,” George Washington

Sincerely,
Joseph E. Sucher
Independence Township