Congressman Clyde comes out against HR 1

Andrew Clyde, the Athens gun shop owner who now represents northeast Georgia’s 9th Congressional District, took to the floor of the US House in Washington Thursday and spoke in opposition to the election reform legislation pushed by congressional Democrats.

Republican Clyde’s office released the following statement…

“H.R.1 is nothing but an attempt by Speaker Pelosi and the Democratic Party to make their slim majority in Congress permanent. This self-serving piece of legislation does nothing to address concerns regarding election security shared by millions of Americans across the country. In fact, it would likely exacerbate them.

While Democrats here in Washington seek to usurp the Constitutional rights of states to determine their own election administration, lawmakers in my home state of Georgia are working to make smart and targeted reforms to our state’s election laws, including picture identification for absentee voting. These reforms are critically important.

H.R. 1 would not only nullify the efforts of Georgia lawmakers, but it would also mandate that all states provide no-excuse absentee voting with absolutely zero safeguards.

I read the bill to figure out what I needed to do in order to obtain and cast an absentee ballot under H.R. 1, and I was shocked to learn that I needed nothing. No witness signature. No form of picture identification. Nothing.

The state reinforces trust by taking steps to verify that all votes are legal and are cast by eligible voters. That is why we must verify citizenship and require picture identification for all voting.

I commend our Georgia lawmakers for strengthening the integrity of our elections and I am proud to support their efforts by voting no to the federal takeover of our elections. No to the ‘For the Politicians Act.’”

Cox Media Group