Democrats Seek the End of Democracy

If Democrats win on November 5, they are committed to reversing central tenets of American sovereignty, starting with border control and barring noncitizens from voting. The effort is linked by Democrats’ belief that they can build a permanent majority by packing the electorate with voters they expect to favor their candidates. That, in turn, is part of a larger effort that includes changing the structure of the Senate and the Supreme Court.

The Democrats and their plan to enroll noncitizens and felons

Democrats are pursuing three paths to achieve an electoral majority: depriving states of the ability to block noncitizen voters, shortening the path to citizenship for illegal migrants, and rescinding prohibitions on voting by noncitizen and felons.

In 1996, President Bill Clinton signed into law the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, which criminalized noncitizen voting in federal elections. Prior to this year’s election, 13 states prohibited noncitizen voting in state and local elections. This week, eight states are voting on referenda that, if passed, would do the same.

Each year Senate Democrats introduce the Freedom to Vote Act to prohibit states from requiring proof of citizenship from those registering to vote, and to permit felons to vote upon being released from prison. Conversely, this summer, just five of 203 Democrats in the House joined with all Republicans to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, which requires proof of citizenship to register to vote. The law died in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

Prior to this year’s election, the Justice Department obtained injunctions to prevent Alabama and Virginia from enforcing federal and state laws that prevent noncitizens from voting. Virginia appealed, and five days before the election, the Supreme Court stayed the injunction, permitting Virginia to proceed. The three liberal justices dissented, even though many of those removed by Virginia admitted they were noncitizens, and may still cast a provisional vote which will be counted if proof of citizenship is provided.

Noncitizen voting already takes place

On their first day in office, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris sent the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 to Congress. It included a pathway to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants. Migrants living in the United States without legal status as of January 1, 2021, received temporary legal status for five years then then became eligible for a green card and could become a citizen within a further three years. Dreamers, those with Temporary Protected Status, and farmers could immediately receive green cards, and citizenship within three years. The legislation also permitted the Homeland Security Secretary to waive the January 1 requirement for family unity and humanitarian purposes.

Contrary to the fervent drumbeat of mainstream media that Republicans have “mainstreamed the baseless idea of noncitizen voting,” the District of Columbia and numerous municipalities in California, Maryland and Vermont permit noncitizen voting. The New York City council voted to permit noncitizen voting, but was blocked by state courts. In 11 states tracked by Ballotpedia, 100% of Republicans voted to refer for voter approval state constitution amendments that bar noncitizen voters from local elections, but just 45.6% of Democrats did so.

Though a search on Google now suppresses access to the progressives’ advocacy of noncitizen voting, diligent efforts reveal articles such as Why Noncitizens Should Be Allowed to Vote at CNN.com, and There Is No Good Reason You Should Have to Be a Citizen to Vote, in The New York Times.

Democrats would have remade the Senate

With control of just the Senate, Democrats can end the filibuster. They would have already done so if Joe Manchin and Kirstyn Sinema, both of whom are leaving the Senate, had not put the Republic above party loyalty. Democrats seek to eliminate the filibuster for many reasons, but first and foremost is to answer the question: “If you had one wish what would it be?” The correct answer is “An unlimited number of wishes.”

Without the filibuster, Democrats can stop Senate Republicans from blocking statehood for the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, the latter of which attracts some Republican support and might pass the House even with a Republican majority. D.C. statehood won’t pass a Republican-controlled House.

In 2019, 2021 and 2023, the House passed the Washington D.C. Admission Act entirely with Democrat votes. The bills died in the Senate because of opposition from Republicans and Manchin. To satisfy Constitutional requirements, core federal buildings remain in a downsized District of Columbia. The remainder of D.C. is admitted as a new state, giving Democrats two senators and one member of the House.

Packing the Supreme Court

In 2022, the House voted 233 (all Democrats and 16 Republicans) to 191 for the Puerto Rico Status Act to authorize a referendum in Puerto Rico to determine whether it would become a state. Because of the filibuster, the bill died in the Senate. On November 5, Puerto Ricans will vote on a referendum that includes only independence and statehood. If Puerto Rico becomes a state, Democrats likely would gain two senators and four members of the House.

A second objective in eliminating the filibuster is to pack the Supreme Court with liberal justices. If the Democrats control the White House and Congress, they can increase the number of justices and limit the Court’s appellate jurisdiction. The Senate then can confirm additional justices to the Court, or confirm judges to new courts granted the jurisdiction withdrawn from the Supreme Court.

The Democrat effort to obtain and retain power by utilizing what used to be called “clever lawyer tricks” will not end. If Democrats win this November, the outcome will be far-reaching.

This article was originally published by RealClearPolicy and made available via RealClearWire.