by Robert Schmad
The America First Policy Institute (AFPI) launched an investigation Wednesday into the Biden administration’s voter registration program in a key swing state, the Daily Caller News Foundation has learned.
AFPI demands Biden administration provide Small Business Administration (SBA) voter records registration efforts in Michigan, an operation it suspects could disproportionately benefit Democrats in the November election, the organization told DCNF exclusively. SBA voter registration operations in Michigan are part of Executive Order 14019that requires federal agencies to develop a plan to promote voter engagement and participation, which has raised concerns among some conservatives that public funds could be used to support Democrats in the upcoming general election.
“Based on some of the evidence we’ve seen, there’s absolutely reason to be concerned that the Biden administration’s SBA is targeting certain demographic groups in its voter registration efforts,” AFPI Litigation Executive Director Mike Berry told DCNF. “For example, there’s evidence to suggest that the SBA’s strongest presence is in Michigan counties with the highest concentrations of Democratic registered voters, while it’s also least active in Michigan counties with the highest concentrations of small businesses and Republican registered voters per capita.”
AFPI is seeking communications between the White House, the SBA and Michigan officials through a Freedom of Information Act request, a DCNF official said. The organization is also trying to obtain documents related to the plan’s implementation.
The White House met with representatives from left-leaning organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union, the Campaign Legal Center, the League of Women Voters and Fair Fight Action, a political activist group affiliated with unsuccessful Democratic candidate for Georgia governor, Stacey Abrams, to discuss how to implement Executive Order 14019. According to to internal documents obtained by the Foundation for Government Accountability.
Participants discussed registering newly naturalized immigrants, promoting voting rights for people in prison and ensuring that voting materials are accessible to people who speak languages ​​other than English, documents show. Erica Teasley Linnick, a senior program officer at the George Soros-backed Open Society Policy Center, also attended the meeting.
Internal Communication Department first reported on DCNF showed that the Biden administration was considering using Native American children to get their parents to register to vote ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. Native Americans favor Democratic Party at the polls and were found ensuring Democrats wins in some races.
The Michigan SBA program will create a website encouraging site visitors to register to vote and will authorize the agency’s field office to allow Michigan Department of State officials to conduct in-person voter registration events at tiny business events, According to to the agency.
“The SBA’s voter registration drive in Michigan under the guise of supporting small businesses is, at best, a ridiculous use of resources and, at worst, a violation of the Hatch Act,” AFPI President Linda McMahon, a former SBA administrator, said in a statement. (McMahon has donated to DCNF.)
The Hatch Act restricts federal employees from engaging in certain political activities to ensure that federal programs are conducted in an impartial manner, According to to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. Republicans in Congress AND conservative organizations echoed McMahon’s concerns that Biden’s executive order could violate that right.
“Executive Order 14019 appears to be designed to target voters who are more likely to vote Democratic,” Stewart Whitson, legal director of the Foundation for Government Accountability, told the Daily Signal, arguing that it could violate the Hatch Act. “Voter participation is voter mobilization. When federal employees engage in the business of getting people to the polls, that is political activity.”
Wisconsin Republican Rep. Bryan Steil, the chairman of the House Administration Committee, issued subpoenas to 15 Biden Cabinet officials in June seeking documents about their agencies’ response to Biden’s executive order, Roll Call reported.
“We can hope that the SBA will remain nonpartisan in its voter registration efforts, but given their focus on a swing state like Michigan, there’s no guarantee that will happen,” McMahon said. “When I was SBA administrator, our focus was on empowering small businesses and growing our economy — not overt electioneering.”
Michigan is one of several key swing states that Republican and Democratic strategists say could have a decisive impact on the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.
The SBA did not immediately respond to DCNF’s request for comment.
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Robert Schmad is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Voter Registration” by Edmond Dantes.
