Charlie Crist on Government Reform Republican

Extend voting hours across the state for all

Criticized restrictive elections bill & anti-riot bill

Give former felons a second chance at voting rights

Nobody's perfect. Everyone makes mistakes. People deserve a second chance. Isn't that the very basis of our democracy and religious faith?

I quickly came to see that restoring the rights of ex-felons would be controversial. All my Republican friends seemed to be certain about what was waiting for us down this path: If we invited thousands of ex-felons back onto Florida's voting rolls, the vast majority wouldn't be voting for us.

"Just look at 'em," I heard more than one Republican say. "Those are Democrats." The laws that kept most ex- felons from voting in Florida went back 136 years. That was the Jim Crow era after the Civil War. Slavery was over. But white judges and politicians in the South were doing everything they could to make sure the newly freed slaves were still kept down.

Require paper backup for all electronic voting machines

At my urging and without much fuss, the legislature passed a bill requiring paper backup for all voting machines. The fact that the federal government would cover the $28 million price tag didn't hurt.

"It just makes common sense," I said that day. "You go to an ATM machine, you get a receipt. You go to a gas station, you probably don't like the receipt you get, but you get a receipt. And with the most precious, cherished right we have in a democracy, we deserve to have a record so we can verify."

Supports term limits & instant contribution reporting

A: Term Limits and enforce Existing Laws & instant contribution reporting.

Statehood for the District of Columbia.

Congressional Summary: Sets forth procedures for admission into the United States of the state of New Columbia.

• Requires the Mayor of the District of Columbia to submit to the voters propositions for statehood and adoption of a State Constitution, and issue a proclamation for the first elections to Congress of two Senators and one Representative of New Columbia.
• Requires the President to issue a proclamation announcing the results and admitting New Columbia into the Union.
• Provides for conversion of District government offices to state offices.

Opponents reasons for voting NAY: (DCist.com, Sept. 2014): The Argument Against: Congress does not have the authority to grant statehood to D.C.; the 23rd amendment, which gave D.C. three electoral votes, would have to be repealed before statehood was granted. Washington is a wholly urban, one-industry town, dependent on the federal government far in excess of any other state. Moreover, with Congress no longer having authority over New Columbia but dependent on it, New Columbia could exert influence on the federal government far in excess of any other state.

Supporters reasons for voting YEA: [Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-DC; the District of Columbia has one representative to Congress and no Senators; Rep. Holmes can introduce bills but her vote does not count]: This 51st state would have no jurisdiction over the federal territory or enclave that now consists of the Washington that Members of Congress and visitors associate with the capital of our country. Those would remain under federal jurisdiction. The New Columbia Admission Act was the first bill I introduced in 1991. Statehood is the only alternative for the citizens of the District of Columbia. To be content with less than statehood is to concede the equality of citizenship that is the birthright of our residents as citizens of the United States.

Automatic voter registration for all citizens.

Congressional Summary:

• Require each state to make available official public websites for online voter registration.
• Authorizes automated voter registration and establishes same day registration, and voter registration of individuals under 18 years of age.
• Declares that the right to vote shall not be denied because that individual has been convicted of a criminal offense.

Supporters reasons for voting YEA: (BrennanCenter.org): Too many Americans go to vote on Election Day only to find their names are not on the voter rolls--often, wrongly deleted. The US is on the verge of a new paradigm for registering voters: automatic, permanent registration of eligible voters, which would add up to 50 million eligible voters to the rolls.

Opponents reasons for voting NAY: (Gov. Christie's veto message on the "Democracy Act", Nov. 2015): Christie called a provision establishing automatic voter registration that requires New Jerseyan to opt out a "government-knows-best, backwards approach that would inconvenience citizens and waste government resources for no justifiable reason." Automatic voter registration would have added 1.6 million people to the state's voter rolls.

(PopVox.org blog)
• TN-8: I have voted in every election federal, state or local that I chose to. If people want to vote there is nothing but laziness preventing them from doing so today! Regarding photo ID's you have one to drive, buy alcohol, and go to the doctor.
• AL-2: This bill is so general that anyone that is alive, has lived, or will live in this century will be able to vote as well as non-Americans, pets, people without voting rights, and some people multiple times.
• TN-3: This bill will surely bring about fixed voting in favor of the one who can cheat the most. How about having a voter photo card and a test to see if they are capable of voting and not just voting for whoever promises them more free stuff.

Holiday on election day; revamp for easier voting access.

• This bill expands voter registration and voting access, makes Election Day a federal holiday, and limits removing voters from voter rolls.
• The bill provides for states to establish independent, nonpartisan redistricting commissions.
• The bill also sets forth provisions for sharing intelligence information with state election officials, and supporting states in securing their election systems, and establishing the National Commission to Protect U.S. Democratic Institutions.
• This bill addresses campaign spending, by expanding the ban on foreign nationals contributing to or spending on elections; and expanding disclosure rules.
• This bill establishes an alternative campaign funding system [with] federal matching of small contributions for qualified candidates.
• The bill also requires candidates for President and Vice President to submit 10 years of tax returns.

Opposing argument from the Heritage Foundation, 2/1/2019: HR1 federalizes and micromanages the election process administered by the states, imposing unnecessary mandates on the states and reversing the decentralization of the American election process. What HR1 Would Do:

• Seize the authority of states to regulate the voting process by forcing states to implement early voting, automatic voter registration, same-day registration, online voter registration, and no-fault absentee balloting.
• Make it easier to commit fraud at the polls through same-day registration, as election officials have no time to verify the accuracy of voter registration.
• Degrade the accuracy of registration lists by automatically registering individuals from state databases, such as DMV.
• Cripple the effectiveness of state voter ID laws by allowing individuals to vote without an ID and merely signing a statement in which they claim they are who they say they are.

Legislative outcome: Passed House 234-193-5 on 3/8/19; received with no action in Senate thru 12/31/2019

Sponsored impeachment of Trump for inciting insurrection.

GovTrack.us summary of H.Res.24: Article of Impeachment Against Former President Donald John Trump:

The House impeached President Trump for the second time, charging him with incitement of insurrection. The impeachment resolution accused the President of inciting the violent riot that occurred on January 6, when his supporters invaded the United States Capitol injuring and killing Capitol Police and endangering the safety of members of Congress. It cites statements from President Trump to the rioters such as `if you don't fight like hell you're not going to have a country anymore,` as well as persistent lies that he won the 2020 Presidential election.

Legislative Outcome:

Bill introduced Jan 11, 2021, with 217 co-sponsors; House rollcall vote #117 passed 232-197-4 on Jan. 13th (a YES vote in the House was to impeach President Trump for inciting insurrection); Senate rollcall vote #59 rejected 57-43-0 on Feb. 13th (2/3 required in Senate to pass; a YES vote in the Senate would have found President Trump guilty, but since he had already left office at that time, a guilty verdict would have barred Trump from running for President in the future)