Biden Faces Mounting Opposition To Voting Reform Executive Order

In the wake of the 2020 presidential election, then-President Donald Trump and countless other conservatives expressed concerns that federal agencies and bureaucrats put their fingers on the scale in Joe Biden’s favor.

Since Biden took office, he has only exacerbated those concerns — particularly through an executive order that critics say will make it easier for partisan organizations to inappropriately, if not illegally, influence future elections.

Although the order is billed as a way to further promote voting access, the way Biden has structured it appears to be directed almost exclusively toward bringing Democrats to the polls.

As Foundation for Government Accountability Legal Director Stewart Whitson wrote in a recent op-ed, the action builds on already available opportunities to target Americans who receive various forms of welfare and are more likely overall to vote for Democratic candidates.

“The order went even further by requiring agencies to allow third-party groups, hand-selected by the White House, to engage in voter registration activities on federal agency premises,” he wrote.

Whitson concluded that the order is unconstitutional since it supersedes the legislative branch’s role in overseeing elections and oversteps the executive branch’s authority by unilaterally impacting voting methods nationwide. He also determined that Biden’s plan constitutes a clear violation of the National Voter Registration Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, and the Anti-Deficiency Act.

Nevertheless, if Congress does not act to override the order, it could still have a deleterious impact on the upcoming presidential race. 

Some Republican lawmakers in both chambers have already spoken out against the order — including a group of senators who are pushing for the Promoting Free and Fair Elections Act.

According to a press release by Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC), the proposed legislation “would prohibit federal agencies from using taxpayer funds to implement or enter into agreements with partisan organizations that conduct voter mobilization activities.”

He issued a separate statement denouncing Biden’s planned use of “official resources” to pursue partisan electoral changes.

“President Biden’s executive order empowering every federal agency to engage in electioneering on the taxpayers’ dime raises serious ethical and legal concerns,” Budd said. “This sweeping directive is inherently political and directed primarily at groups expected to vote for one party over another.”