Thread by @JoshuaADouglas

.@senatemajldr has doubled down on his falsehoods and inaccuracies about H.R. 1, the "For the People Act" (which he derisively calls the Democrat Politician Protection Act), this time in response to a @heraldleader Op-Ed. Senator, you *really* need an Election Law lesson. 1/

He says Framers of our "Constitution... gave states the responsibility to administer elections." He's leaving out a crucial part of Article I, Section 4: states determine the "Times, Places and Manner" -->"but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations"2/

That is, the Constitution *explicitly provides* for Congress to regulate elections. It's how Congress passed the National Voter Registration Act (Motor Voter) and the Help America Vote Act of 2002. 3/

Senator McConnell writes: "I’m sure that in some corners, I’ll be derided for referencing the Constitution at all.” No, Senator, you're derided when you don't accurately quote the Constitution and leave out an important phrase to make your one-sided argument. 4/

Next, he writes that the Democrats, including @SpeakerPelosi, "believe San Francisco and Washington D.C. know better than Kentucky how to run an election." Well, given that Kentucky has one of the most restrictive election laws in the country, maybe they're on to something. 5/

He says that "Washington Democrats would overturn our voter ID requirements." Actually, Senator, this is one area where Kentucky isn't that bad; it does not have a strict voter ID law and numerous types of IDs suffice. 6/

Plus, as anyone who has studied the issue knows, voter ID laws simply don't root out any kind of voter fraud. The examples of voter fraud the Senator mentions involved absentee balloting. Would he like to make the rules for absentee balloting stricter? I didn't think so. 7/

He notes that H.R. 1 "would determine when and where Kentuckians vote." Considering that Kentucky has no early voting and the polls are open for only 12 hours, from 6 am to 6 pm, why is expanding convenience for voters such a bad thing? 8/

Senator McConnell repeats the claim that automatic voter registration would lead to error and duplication. But let's not forget that the Wash Post had to issue a major correction to your Op-Ed about the amount of fraud in CA from AVR 9/

Plus, as anyone who has studied the issue knows, bloated voter registration rolls do not equal voter fraud. Far from it. 10/

Then we reach the issue of felon disenfranchisement, where Kentucky is one again an outlier (not in a good way): He writes, "Washington Democrats would also take away a state’s ability to decide whether and how it may restore voting rights for felons."

Yes, thank goodness. 11/

After reforms in other states (including FL this past November), only Kentucky and Iowa disenfranchise felons for life. Felon disenfranchisement takes away a fundamental aspect of citizenship, disproportionately harming African-Americans in particular. 12/

As @LWVKY recently found, KY disenfranchises 1 of every 4 African-Americans in the state: lwvky.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/final-… 13/

It also found that Kentuckians, by a 2 to 1 margin, favor felon re-enfranchisement.

The problem is that entrenched and partisan interests won't change the rules. They are afraid of losing their political power and doing the right thing. So H.R. 1 would do it for them. 14/

Is there any *principled* argument against that provision of the bill? I'm asking a serious question, Senator. I haven't heard one. "Letting Kentuckians decide" might make sense if our elected leaders would actually do so. 15/

Finally, Senator McConnell ends with a nice sounding phrase: "I hope every eligible voter exercises their fundamental right to vote at every opportunity." If you did--if you *really* wanted to expand voter participation, you would support H.R. 1. 16/

So, Senator, I say it again: please come to my Election Law class. I recognize that it's politics-all-the-way-down for you, but at least come to the debate with some actual facts, not falsehoods and misrepresentations. 17/

For those who really want to read it, here's a link to McConnell's Op-Ed.

And here's a link to my @CNN @CNNOpinion piece inviting him to my class: edition.cnn.com/2019/01/31/opi…

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