Articles

Friday morning the House passed a bill known as HR 1, which aims to expand voters' rights and reduce money in politics.The bill increases donor transparency and cracks down on lobbying. It also requires presidential and vice presidential candidates release their tax returns. 

The Democrat's bill likely won't be made into law. Ahead of the vote on Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called HR 1 "a hostile takeover of the body that regulates political speech."

The bill passed 234 to 193. 

Democrats like Congressman Don Beyer (Va-8) aren't optimistic that the entire bill will make it to the Senate. Instead, he hopes pieces of it will return to the House, to be signed into law, like his PROVE Act, featured in HR 1.

Beyer's PROVE Act, or Pre-Registration of Voters Everywhere, would allow 16- and 17-year-old citizens to pre-register to vote so that they are automatically added to voter rolls when they turn 18.

"The PROVE Act could be one of 15 or 25 pieces of HR 1 that we take up and send to the Senate in hopes that the Senate will act on it," said Beyer.

Beyer says about 20 states already offer voter pre-registration. States must integrate pre-registration two years after the bill passes. States in need may apply for a grant for pre-registration, and are given an additional six months. 

PROVE also includes modifications to secondary schools' curriculums to promote civic engagement.