Conservative Group to Spend $10M on Election Security Reform Efforts in Swing States
Heritage Action for America, a nonprofit branch of the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, will spend $10 million on election security law reform efforts in eight swing states, according to a new report.
The effort will including digital and television ads, volunteer issue advocacy campaigns and lobbying state legislatures directly in eight swing states: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, Texas and Wisconsin, according to Fox News.
“Fair elections are essential for every policy debate in the future,” Heritage Action Executive Director Jessica Anderson said in a statement. “We are working to help state lawmakers restore trust in our elections, ensure transparency, and protect the rights of every American to a fair election. This is our number one priority, and we are committed to doing whatever it takes.”
The effort comes after the House on Wednesday passed H.R. 1, a sweeping election and voter rights reform bill, with a vote of 220-to-210. No Republicans joined Democrats in approving the bill.
The bill would eliminate all voter I.D. requirements; mandate no-excuse absentee voting in all states; make it more difficult for states to clean up outdated voter rolls; and mandate automatic voter registration for people who are registered with state or federal offices within a state.
The measure is likely to be a tough sell in the evenly divided Senate: conservative groups have launched a $5 million campaign in an attempt to coax moderate Senate Democrats to oppose rule changes needed to pass the bill.
Republicans have been critical of the bill, saying it serves as unwanted federal interference into states’ authority to run their own elections, though Democrats have argued that the measure is needed to help combat voter suppression.
Heritage Action’s efforts are partially in response to the bill, Anderson told Fox News.
“Fair and free elections matter to every American,” Anderson said. “While we are working to prevent federal election takeovers like HR 1, voting safeguards have to start with the states. That is why we are now deploying Heritage Action’s extensive grassroots network for state-level advocacy for the first time ever.”
The group will press for stricter rules on voter I.D., citizenship verification and ballot harvesting. Heritage Action will also advocate for laws that will make it easier for states to clean their voter rolls and for election observers to oversee the voting and ballot-counting processes.
