Pence slams Democratic voting reform bill HR 1 as an 'unconstitutional power grab'

• Mike Pence criticized the Democratic HR 1 voting reform bill as "unconstitutional power grab."
• Pence says that "election reform must be undertaken at the state level."
• The former vice president is slowly emerging back into the political world.

Former Vice President Mike Pence came out swinging on Wednesday, writing an op-ed that criticized House Democrats' sweeping election reform bill as "unconstitutional power grab."

The Democratic-backed House Resolution 1 (HR1), known as the For the People Act, would end partisan gerrymandering, expand early and absentee voting, establish national standards for voter registration, and blunt voter purges, among other reforms.

In his article for The Daily Signal, Pence argues that the bill would take away responsibilities that should be left to the states.

"Election reform is a national imperative, but under our Constitution, election reform must be undertaken at the state level," he wrote. "Our Founders limited Congress' role in conducting our elections for good reason: They wanted elections to be administered closest to the people, free from undue influence of the national government."

He added: "While legislators in many states have begun work on election reform to restore public confidence in state elections, unfortunately, congressional Democrats have chosen to sweep those valid concerns and reforms aside and to push forward a brazen attempt to nationalize elections in blatant disregard of the US Constitution."

Democrats and voting rights advocates have slammed the wave of GOP-backed initiatives aimed at restricting the vote in the aftermath of former President Donald Trump's loss and his monthslong pressure campaign seeking to overturn the 2020 election results.

Trump's claims of voter and election fraud are false.

While Republicans hope to use their majorities in key states to cement new Congressional districts to their liking, HR 1 would take away that responsibility, mandating that states adopt independent redistricting commissions.

To Pence, such a move only adds to his staunch opposition to the bill.

"Congressional districts would be redrawn by unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats," he wrote. "Leftists not only want you powerless at the ballot box, they want to silence and censor anyone who would dare to criticize their unconstitutional power grab."

The former vice president says that having served in federal and statewide office, access to voting and secure elections are paramount.

(The 2020 election was among the most secure in modern history, and there is no evidence of widespread voter or election fraud.)

"HR 1 would turn a blind eye to very real problems at the state level, exacerbate existing vulnerabilities, and further undermine the American people's confidence in the principle of 'one person, one vote,'" he wrote.

Pence did not mention Trump in the op-ed, despite him still reportedly enjoying a warm relationship with the former president.

After the January 6 Capitol riots and the Electoral College certification process, which Trump tried to use to pressure Pence to overturn the election results, the former vice president initially kept a low profile, but has slowly emerged back into the political world.

Last week, he met with members of the conservative Republican Study Committee and told the group that he intends to start a political organization that will protect the legacy of the former administration, according to a CNN report.