Sinclair's National Desk allowed a guest to lie about a federal voting rights bill
Written by Zachary Pleat
Published
On Monday morning, Sinclair Broadcast Group anchor Jan Jeffcoat allowed a Republican senator to lie about Democrats’ For the People Act, which would streamline federal election rules and make it easier for voters to participate. Rather than protect her viewers from this misinformation, Jeffcoat, whose morning news program The National Desk airs on 68 Sinclair-owned or -operated local TV stations, moved on to a different topic.
The For the People Act, which was passed by the House on March 3 as H.R.1, contains numerous reforms to America’s elections. It would make voter registration easier and more accessible, spending in elections more transparent, and voting by mail more accessible and free for voters, among many other changes. Voting rights advocates have explained that this legislation is urgently needed because of numerous efforts by Republican-controlled states to pass onerous restrictions on voting.
Jeffcoat’s guest, Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS), was on to discuss Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-WV) June 6 op-ed explaining why he wouldn’t vote for the bill. But when Jeffcoat invited Marshall to explain his own position on the For the People Act, the Republican senator blatantly lied about what the legislation contains. Rather than correct this misinformation for her viewers, Jeffcoat changed the topic.
Citation From the June 7, 2021, edition of Sinclair Broadcast Group's The National Desk
JAN JEFFCOAT (ANCHOR): We have heard from Sen. Manchin on this before but now he’s put it in writing, which some say gives it a little more weight. Is there any part of this legislation you would support?
SEN. ROGER MARSHALL (R-KS): You know, I’m sure there is, but there’s certainly poison pills in it as well. This legislation would mandate that my state would have to stop using voter IDs. This is the federal takeover of the election process, where they would mandate what states can do and not do. They would force you to not be able to use voter ID. They would force you to mail out ballots and really encourage the ballot harvesting. And then next, they would match federal dollars with your other campaign dollars 6-to-1. So if somebody gave me a dollar, the federal government would give me $6, and guess what, you’d get more attack ads on television. And I know all your listeners are wanting more of those.
JEFFCOAT: And you know, Sen. Manchin as we talk about money here, someone that we’re watching closely right now is Sen. Manchin as well, because of the infrastructure bill. The president, [Republican Sen.] Shelley Moore Capito, West Virginia, also meeting again today. What do you know about the infrastructure proposal? Even if Democrats are able to use budget reconciliation, it would still need Sen. Manchin. Do you know if he supports the president’s plan?
The For the People Act does not, in fact, force states to stop enforcing voter ID laws. FactCheck.org explained in March that “H.R. 1 wouldn’t ban state laws that ask voters to show identification at the polls.” Instead, the bill provides “an option for those who don’t have ID to offer a signed statement instead during federal elections.”
And PolitiFact has debunked the claim Marshall used that the bill would “force you to mail out ballots.” The bill instead makes it easier for registered voters to request a mail-in ballot, and “would require states to send mail ballot applications to all registered voters before federal elections, but sending an application is not the same thing as sending an actual ballot.”
Marshall’s other comments about the For the People Act are lacking needed context. PolitiFact also explained that collecting mail-in ballots is already legal in many states and the bill would “permit a voter to designate any person” to return their completed and sealed mail-in ballot, as long as that person isn’t being paid based on the number of ballots they’re collecting. And the provision for matching federal campaign dollars is, as Newsweek explained in March, designed to give congressional challengers a fairer chance against incumbents.
Jeffcoat’s failure to push back against these lies about H.R.1 is nothing new for Sinclair’s national news programming. In January, Sinclair national correspondent Kristine Frazao pushed GOP lies about voter fraud in her report on the For the People Act. And in March, Sinclair national correspondent Ahtra Elnashar whitewashed the GOP’s nationwide effort to suppress voting in her report on the bill, while also including false GOP talking points.