A House Republican issued subpoenas to five Biden administration agency officials to sit for sworn depositions related to their involvement in helping implement President Biden’s executive order (EO) on Promoting Access to Voting.
In March 2021, President Biden signed Promoting Access to Voting, which states that “executive departments and agencies should partner with State, local, Tribal, and territorial election officials to protect and promote the exercise of the right to vote, eliminate discrimination and other barriers to voting, and expand access to voter registration and accurate election information.”
The plan has faced scrutiny from Senate Republicans, who have labeled it a federal “voter mobilization” effort with “potentially partisan impacts.”
On Thursday, Committee on House Administration chairman Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wis.) subpoenaed officials he claims to have “direct knowledge” of how their respective agencies implemented the EO.
Subpoenas were sent to officials at the Department of Labor, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Justice and Department of Agriculture for the officials to testify under oath.
“Americans deserve transparency and trust in their elections. However, the Biden Administration has refused to comply with a lawfully issued congressional subpoena and cooperate with our investigation into their plan to use federal agencies to ‘get out the vote,'” Steil said.
“The Committee has concerns about the implementation of E.O. 14019, particularly regarding its compatibility with provisions of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993,” the cover letter to the subpoenas reads.
“Congress delegates to federal agencies specific functions and missions, which by law they are required to follow. Congress’s delegation of authority to [the agencies] does not include using funds and resources to provide Americans with voter registration materials,” it says.
“Federal law requires that only U.S. citizens who choose to register to vote must have the opportunity to do so, and every lawful vote must count according to law. Increased voter registration and participation is a goal all Americans share,”the subpoena states. “At the same time, our system requires that our actions must always comply with the Constitution and federal law.”
The Wisconsin Congressman noted in the subpoena that according to Article I, section 4 of the Constitution, States have the primary role in establishing election law and administering elections, including voter registration.
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