In the runup to the 2020 election, several states altered their voting procedures under the guise of the pandemic. In most cases, these far-reaching changes were instituted by governors under the premise that they could unilaterally do so because the pandemic afforded them emergency powers.

Americans should be outraged over this because according to the U.S. Constitution governors do not have the authority to single-handedly change voting rules pandemic or not. Per Article 1, section 4, The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof.

In Wisconsin, Gov. Tony Evers tasked the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) with revising the rules for voting in the 2020 general election after his request to the state legislature to do the same was rejected.

However, according to a recent ruling from Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Michael Bohren, the voting changes instituted by WEC for the November 2020 election are illegal.

Specifically, Bohren ruled that WECs guidance regarding absentee ballot drop boxes violated the Wisconsin Constitution, which states, voting by absentee ballot is a privilege exercised wholly outside the traditional safeguards of the polling place.

Moreover, the Wisconsin Constitution notes, the privilege of voting by absentee ballot must be carefully regulated to prevent the potential for fraud or abuse; to prevent overzealous solicitation of absent electors who may prefer not to participate in an election; to prevent undue influence on an absent elector to vote for or against a candidate or to cast a particular vote in a referendum; or other similar abuses.

Suffice to say, creating a network of absentee ballot drop boxes is probably not the best way to prevent the potential for fraud or abuse.

Neither is ballot harvesting, which was also stricken down by Bohren.

Interestingly, Bohrens ruling comes as Democrats push national voting laws that would increase absentee voting and ballot harvesting, among many other provisions that would make it easier to vote under false pretenses.

Over the past few months, Democrats have argued that the federal government must circumvent the states by passing sweeping voting reform bills. Moreover, they have argued that anyone opposed to a federal takeover of state elections must be a racist.

Here is President Joe Biden, comparing those who oppose his call for the federal government to supersede state voting laws to infamous racists of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Do you want to be on the side of Dr. King or George Wallace? Do you want to be on the side of John Lewis or Bull Connor? Do you want to be on the side of Abraham Lincoln or Jefferson Davis?

Biden failed to articulate how opposing his partys national voting bills actually makes one on par with the president of the Confederate States of America because that comparison is laughable on its face.

Biden also failed to mention that the vast majority of Americans agree with many of the commonsense rules states have in place to deter voter fraud. For example, recent polls show approximately 70 percent of Americans support voter ID laws, which Biden and Democrats claim is akin to voter suppression.

Whats more, in 2020, voting percentages among minority groups increased across-the-board.

Over the past several decades, great strides have been made in ensuring that all Americans eligible to vote are able to cast ballots. This achievement should be celebrated by all Americans, regardless of party affiliation.

As we enter 2022, with midterm elections on the horizon, it is imperative that states retain their sovereignty concerning voting procedures. Make no mistake, when elections are overseen by states rather than the federal government, the odds for corruption and election malfeasance are dramatically reduced.

In conjunction, the odds of a nationally disputed election and loss of confidence in American democracy are also less likely when elections are decentralized and run by states rather than the federal government.

Chris Talgo (ctalgo@heartland.org) is senior editor at The Heartland Institute.

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Op-Ed: As Democrats push for federal takeover of elections, Wisconsin forbids ballot harvesting and absentee ballot drop boxes - The Center Square