Records reveal how 'Bidenbucks' could affect battleground Nevada
[Editor's note: This story originally was published by The Daily Signal.]
By Fred Lucas
The Daily Signal
At least four federal agencies likely will be involved in helping to mobilize voters in Nevada, based on President Joe Biden’s executive order on elections, which some critics call “Bidenbucks.”
Through a public records request, The Daily Signal obtained copies of letters from Nevada Secretary of State Francisco V. Aguilar to federal agencies regarding implementation of Biden’s executive order.
Executive Order 14019, which Biden signed in March 2021, directs every federal agency to be active in boosting voter participation and to partner with nonprofit organizations in doing so.
Previous records obtained by The Daily Signal as well as watchdog groups show these private actors partnering with agencies or communicating with Biden White House officials on the order.
These actors include left-leaning groups such as Demos and the American Civil Liberties Union, the Brennan Center for Justice, the Southern Poverty Law Center, billionaire financier George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, and Fair Fight Action, founded by Stacey Abrams, who lost twice as the Democrat nominee for Georgia governor.
On Oct. 27, Francisco Aguilar, a Democrat elected as Nevada’s secretary of state in 2022, wrote top officials in the federal Labor, Health and Human Services, and Veterans Affairs departments, as well as U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, a subagency in the Department of Homeland Security.
Aguilar’s request was for each federal agency to act as a voter registration agency in Nevada, which, he writes, is pursuant to Biden’s executive order.
“Your partnership in this designation will greatly benefit Nevada’s voters by distributing voter registration applications, assisting with qualified voter registrations, and ensuring completed applications are transmitted to County Clerks/Registrars,” his letter to each of the four agencies says.
Aguilar’s letter also cites Section 7 of the 1993 National Voter Registration Act. The section requires that states offer voter registration opportunities at certain state and local offices, including public assistance and disability offices.
That section of the U.S. statute known as the “motor voter law” also says that “states may designate as voter-registration agencies nongovernmental offices (such as private colleges) or federal government offices,” according to the Justice Department.
In his letter to Labor Secretary Julie Su, Aguilar specifically asks the department to designate its American Job Centers. Those centers were established in 2014 to offer training referrals, career counseling, job listings, and other employment-related services.
A spokesperson for Aguilar did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment before publication time.
The White House previously announced that the Labor Department would encourage states to designate the more than 2,400 American Job Centers as voter registration locations.
A subagency at the Department of Health and Human Services, the Administration for Community Living, announced it would create a “voting access hub” to connect with older adults and those with disabilities who want to vote.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has announced it would provide materials and assistance in both registering and voting for tens of thousands of inpatients and residents, including inpatients at VA medical centers.
“We are exploring the opportunity to become an NVRA-designated agency in Nevada,” Veterans Affairs spokesperson Susan Carter told The Daily Signal, referring to the National Voter Registration Act.
“Currently, VA only has three pilot NVRA designated agencies in the state of Michigan,” she said.
Spokespersons for the other three federal agencies involved did not immediately respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment on this report.
The House Administration Committee, which has oversight of elections, earlier subpoenaed 15 members of Biden’s Cabinet regarding the implementation of the president’s executive order.
Republicans object to Biden’s order, noting it could prompt federal employees to violate the Hatch Act, a law that prohibits partisan political activity using government time or resources, as well as the Antideficiency Act, which prohibits federal agencies from spending public money on matters not authorized by Congress.
Biden administration officials have argued that the president’s order is about promoting voter accessibility and ensuring that voting is easier for Americans.
The House Committee on Small Business has investigated the Small Business Administration’s efforts to register voters, holding a hearing June 5. In March, SBA announced a memorandum of understanding with the Michigan Department of State, the chief election agency for the battleground state, to facilitate voter registration efforts ahead of the election cycle this year.
[Editor's note: This story originally was published by The Daily Signal.]
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