The upcoming election has placed a spotlight on two pivotal swing states, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
Both states are currently under the governance of Democratic Governors Gretchen Whitmer and Josh Shapiro, who were previously considered as potential vice-presidential candidates for Kamala Harris.
According to Gateway Pundit, Michigan's Secretary of State, Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, has been accused of being one of the most partisan and dishonest election officials in the country. On the other hand, Pennsylvania's Secretary of State, Albert Schmidt, although a Republican, was appointed by Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro. Schmidt faced widespread criticism following the contentious 2020 election for his refusal to investigate the results.
President Trump took to Twitter to express his dissatisfaction with Secretary Schmidt, stating that he "refuses to look at a mountain of corruption & dishonesty" in Philadelphia, PA. This was in response to numerous reports of serious election integrity issues in the city.
In June 2023, Secretary Schmidt defended the controversial ERIC system, previously under the control of Democrat David Becker, as a crucial tool for maintaining the accuracy of the state's voter rolls.
Recent times have seen the unveiling of numerous strategies that seemingly provide Democrats with an unfair advantage over Republicans in the upcoming election. One such strategy involves automatically registering voters, often without their knowledge, when they apply for driver's licenses.
On September 24, 2023, Michigan's Secretary of State, Jocelyn Benson, announced the implementation of automatic voter registration in the state. "Making voter registration automatic for eligible citizens means more Michigan residents will have access to participating in our democracy," Benson stated. "I look forward to this both strengthening our democracy and ultimately helping transactions move more quickly in branch offices by eliminating extra paperwork."
Similarly, on September 19, 2023, Pennsylvania's Governor Josh Shapiro announced the introduction of automatic voter registration in his state. The new system will automatically register eligible citizens applying for new or renewed driver licenses and ID cards to vote, unless they opt out. The changes also include instructions in an additional five languages, bringing the total to 31.
The decision to make voter registration available in 31 languages has raised questions. Critics argue that in an English-speaking nation, if applicants cannot read English, they cannot read street signs, posing a potential risk to road safety.
In Michigan, illegal aliens are permitted to obtain driver's licenses, but are warned of misdemeanor charges if they vote in a federal election.
In September 2023, former President Barack Obama praised the automatic voter registration in Pennsylvania, expressing hope that more states would follow suit. His comments were met with criticism on Twitter, with one user, "Righteous Crusader," accusing Democrats of pretending that the ensuing massive fraud strengthens democracy.
The Federalist recently reported that the Pennsylvania Motor Voter System will be audited for non-citizen voters. A Right-to-Know request response obtained by Heather Honey, executive director of the Election Research Institute and co-founder of Verity Vote, revealed that at least 628,234 noncitizens had a state drivers license or a non-drivers license photo identification in Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania Auditor General Timothy DeFoor, a Republican, has announced a performance audit of the motor voter registration process. The audit will examine the implementation of the program, its compliance with the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, and its relation to the state election code.
In response to the Federalist's report, PennDOT Press Secretary Alexis Campbell insisted that non-citizens do not get registered to vote when obtaining a drivers license in Pennsylvania. However, in 2017, then-Pennsylvania Secretary of State Robert Torres announced that a glitch at PennDOT had allowed noncitizens to register to vote for decades.
Despite these controversies, the GOP has made significant strides in Pennsylvania, leading in new voters according to the department of state data. In Beaver, Berks, and Bucks counties, Republicans have become the registered majority, flipping the script in a state that has been a battleground for election controversies.
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