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Trump Can’t Derail Social Security, But Harris’ Filibuster Plans Can

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In her campaign’s “New Way Forward” policy document, Kamala Harris claimed she “will not let [Donald] Trump and his allies take away the Social Security and Medicare benefits that seniors have earned.” But Harris’ claims suffer from multiple inconvenient truths. 

For starters, under current law and Senate rules, Donald Trump and congressional Republicans cannot change Social Security on a party-line basis. However, Harris’ proposals undermining the Senate filibuster would give them an opening to do so.

Senate’s ‘Byrd Rule’

Policy analysts not steeped in Senate procedure might presume that Congress could enact changes to Social Security via budget reconciliation. That process allows lawmakers to pass fiscal changes via expedited procedures circumventing the Senate’s 60-vote supermajority requirement for most legislation.

But the Senate’s “Byrd rule,” which was codified into law in 1985, includes an explicit prohibition on changing Social Security via budget reconciliation. Section 313(b)(1) of the Congressional Budget Act, informally known as the “Byrd rule,” contains six tests determining whether legislative provisions are “extraneous” to reconciliation. The sixth test references language stating that “it shall not be in order in the Senate or the House of Representatives to consider any reconciliation bill … that contains recommendations with respect to the old-age, survivors, and disability insurance program established under Title II of the Social Security Act.”

Lawmakers can and do use reconciliation to make budgetary changes to other Social Security Act programs. For instance, lawmakers in 1996 used reconciliation to reform federal welfare laws, and they have regularly amended Medicare and

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Pennsylvania County Believes Discovered Voter Application Fraud Connected To ‘Large-Scale’ Operation

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Lancaster County Pennsylvania Commissioners, who also make up the county board of elections, announced Friday they are investigating 2,500 voter registration applications for potential fraud. At least 60 percent of the applications investigated so far have been confirmed as fraudulent, according to Lancaster County District Attorney Heather Adams.

The county believes these fraudulent applications are part of a “large-scale” operation that has been underway since June, Adams said, and two other Pennsylvania counties are involved in similar investigations. She declined to name the other counties, saying they could choose to name themselves.

The voter registration applications came in two large batches from a group (or groups), which the county did not name, that has engaged in canvassing areas to register people to vote.

“We are still investigating who is behind this,” Adams said.  

The last day to register to vote in Pennsylvania was Oct. 21. The batches with fraudulent registration applications arrived at the county on or near the deadline.

“Applications in in these batches are going through an extensive multi-step review process, including the district attorney’s office for further investigation, as warranted,” Lancaster County Commissioner Ray D’Agostino said in a press conference. “This includes issues of duplicate handwriting matching other voter registration forms in the batches; inconsistent signatures with what is on the file in the SURE System, because … many of these are duplicates; unverifiable and or inaccurate addresses; an inaccurate driver’s license or Social Security number of verification.”

The Pennsylvania Department of State and the

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Washington DC Sends Ballot Intended For Another Voter To Michigan Resident

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A Hillsdale College vice president found an absentee ballot in his Michigan mailbox. But it came from Washington, D.C. — and was addressed to someone who likely never lived there.

“We have no reason to believe anyone with that name ever lived at this location,” said Robert Norton, Hillsdale’s vice president and legal counsel, to The Federalist.

Norton found the absentee ballot in the mailbox of his home in rural Jonesville, Mich. It came from the District of Columbia Board of Elections, and was addressed to a woman Norton says never lived there. The mailer, obtained by The Federalist, contained a blank ballot, instructions, a secrecy sleeve, and a pre-paid return envelope. 

Norton said he has never been a D.C. resident. He has lived at his house for years, and the previous resident owned the house for decades. 

“There’s no possible, ‘Oops, I lived there for a while and sold the house,’” Norton said. 

While Norton said he has “no idea” why the board of elections would send him a mail-in ballot addressed to someone else, he suggested it could be an error in a voting database.

“But that is not nothing,” Norton said. “Obviously one got away, and many others can get away.”

Norton also suggested the mailer could have been political bait. Left-wing media and officials have targeted Norton for advising those with integrity concerns after the 2020 election.

“Did somebody with access to it send me a ballot, seeing if I would take the bait

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Leftist Dark Money Group Bankrolled By Foreign Billionaire Dumped Cash Into Initiative That Could Rig Ohio For Dems

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A foreign billionaire funneled hundreds of millions of dollars to a leftist dark money donor behind Ohio ballot measure Issue 1 — a redistricting initiative that could give Democrats a permanent advantage in Ohio. The state enacted a ban on foreign funding of such initiatives earlier this year.

Ohio residents will vote in November on Issue 1, which would establish a commission of “non-politician” appointees to redraw district lines, according to Ballotpedia. The commission would consist of five Republican members, five Democrat members, and five independent or otherwise affiliated members.

The primary group behind Issue 1 — Citizens Not Politicians — has taken funding from the Sixteen Thirty Fund, a branch of leftist dark money giant Arabella Advisors, financial records show. According to a watchdog report, the group has received hundreds of millions in funding from Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss.

Republicans and election integrity advocates have raised concerns about the initiative, arguing it could essentially result in redistricting that largely favors Democrats, possibly helping the party gain control of Congress.

“What they’re after is the ultimate prize of flipping three to four congressional seats in the state of Ohio,” Republican state Sen. Rob McColley told The Federalist.“That would potentially be the difference between the control of the United States House of Representatives being Republican or Democrat.”

Honest Elections Project Executive Director Jason Snead echoed these concerns, equating the initiative to “a power grab by the left” that’s “designed to do an end run around the democratic process in Ohio.”

“It’s all designed

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