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ADMINISTRATION

MANDATE 2020

 © 2020 by The Heritage Foundation
214 Massachusetts Ave., NE
Washington, DC 20002
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All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America.

ISBN: 978-0-89195-172-8
 True North

Kay C. James

J ust 10 days after the 1980 election, The Heritage Foundation handed
Ronald Reagan’s presidential transition team the first-ever Mandate
for Leadership. President Reagan firmly embraced Mandate and used it
to develop so many of his Administration’s policies that The Washington
Post said it “became a bible of sorts for many in the Reagan White House.”


Heritage continues to publish new editions of Mandate for Lead-
ership to this day. It is a guidebook with solutions to issues that range
from spurring job growth to ensuring Social Security’s viability to
protecting the environment. Its purpose is to help policymakers
build an America where freedom, opportunity, prosperity, and civil
society flourish.
As they have done since 1980, Heritage scholars have once again com-
piled their extensively researched public policy solutions, this time for
Mandate’s 2020 edition. This book contains the policy prescriptions they
believe will deliver success after success in tackling some of America’s
biggest issues.
In each policy area, Mandate lays out the evidence that shows why
so many big-government policies of the past have failed—and have even
harmed the people they were intended to help. It also spells out detailed
policy solutions that are more effective and at the same time respect
America’s tradition of limited government, free enterprise, individual
freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense. In

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 THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION

each chapter, we have identified an issue that is vital to our nation and
have provided a comprehensive set of recommendations for the White
House, the executive agencies, and the Congress.
In the back of this book, you will also find an index of every recom-
mendation. Each recommendation is categorized by the issue under
which it falls, the branch of government that has the authority to imple-
ment the policy, and the agency that has responsibility for the issue. The
reason this index is included is simple: This book is meant to be an easy-
to-use resource to create maximum impact.
While policymakers work to implement these solutions, The Heritage
Foundation will back those efforts by demonstrating their benefits to
millions of Americans, both through traditional media, social media, and
public events and by working in coalition with other think tanks and
advocacy organizations.
Perhaps the most important part of this book is the section called
“True North: The Principles of Conservatism.” We consider these 14 prin-
ciples, most of which are based on the principles of America’s Founding,


as the rubric by which we judge public policy. The True North principles
are the principles we believe have given and will continue to give America
effective, constitutional, and visionary governance. Each policy recom-
mendation in Mandate flows from these principles.
In 2016, Heritage submitted the 2016 Mandate for Leadership to the
incoming Trump Administration, and we spent 2017 working with the
Administration to provide details and action plans for each policy rec-
ommendation we made. By the end of the first year of President Trump’s
term, the Administration had embraced 64 percent of those recommen-
dations, from tax reform to deregulation to changes in the Affordable
Care Act. Obviously, there is still more for the next and other succeeding
Administrations to do.
Serving in government can be overwhelming. I have served two Pres-
idents, and I know from firsthand experience the importance and the
impact of thorough research and analysis. This book provides that objec-
tive research and analysis and is meant to make your jobs easier.

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 MANDATE 2020

Good luck in the work that you have ahead of you, and know that we
at Heritage are here to help you and America achieve immense success.

Kay C. James
President
The Heritage Foundation
March 2020

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 The Principles of Conservatism

A guide to building an America

where freedom, opportunity, prosperity,
and civil society flourish.

T he Heritage Foundation formulates policies that promote free

enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional
American values, and a strong national defense. Heritage does not


support policies that deviate from these principles, nor are our recom-
mendations ever influenced by donations or outside political pressure.

1. The federal government exists to preserve life, liberty, and

property, and it is instituted to protect the rights of individuals
according to natural law. Among these rights are the sanctity of
life; the freedom of speech, religion, the press, and assembly; the
right to bear arms; the right of individuals to be treated equally
and justly under the law; and to enjoy the fruits of one’s labor.

2. The federal government’s powers are limited to those named in

the Constitution and should be exercised solely to protect the
rights of its citizens. As Thomas Jefferson said, “The government
closest to the people serves the people best.” Powers not delegated
to the federal government, nor prohibited by the Constitution, are
reserved to the states or to the people.

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 THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION

3. Judges should interpret and apply our laws and the Constitution
based on their original meaning, not upon judges’ personal and
political predispositions.

4. Individuals and families—not government—make the best

decisions regarding their and their children’s health, education,
jobs, and welfare.

5. The family is the essential foundation of civil society, and

traditional marriage serves as the cornerstone of the family.

6. The federal deficit and debt must not place unreasonable financial
burdens on future generations.

7. Tax policies should raise only the minimum revenue necessary to

fund constitutionally appropriate functions of government.


8. America’s economy and the prosperity of individual citizens are

best served by a system of free enterprise, with special emphasis
on economic freedom, private property rights, and the rule of law.
This system is best sustained by policies promoting free trade
and deregulation, and opposing government interventions in the
economy that distort markets and impair innovation.

9. Regulations must not breach constitutional principles of limited

government and the separation of powers.

10. America must be a welcoming nation—one that promotes patriotic

assimilation and is governed by laws that are fair, humane, and
enforced to protect its citizens.

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 MANDATE 2020

11. Justice requires an efficient, fair, and effective criminal justice

system—one that gives defendants adequate due process
and requires an appropriate degree of criminal intent to
merit punishment.

12. International agreements and international organizations should

not infringe on American’s constitutional rights, nor should they
diminish American sovereignty.

13. America is strongest when our policies protect our national

interests, preserve our alliances of free peoples, vigorously
counter threats to our security, and advance prosperity through
economic freedom at home and abroad.

14. The best way to ensure peace is through a strong national defense.

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 The Mandate

Thomas Binion

“The welfare of our country is the great object to which our

cares and efforts ought to be directed. And I shall derive great
satisfaction from a co-operation with you, in the pleasing
though arduous task of ensuring our fellow Citizens the
blessings, which they have a right to expect, from a free,
efficient and equal government.”

T his was the conclusion of President George Washington’s first State

of the Union Address, delivered on January 8, 1790, in Federal Hall, 
New York City. In speaking with his fellow elected policymakers, President
Washington first admonished the Congress to focus on “[t]he welfare of
the country” and then pointed to the obvious reason: “our fellow Citizens.”
Governing in the United States has always been, and remains, about
the outcome as it relates to “our fellow Citizens.” Indeed, “they have
a right to expect” many things from their elected and representa-
tive government.
However, as President Donald Trump boldly proclaimed in his inau-
gural address, “For too long, a small group in our nation’s Capital has
reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost.
Washington flourished—but the people did not share in its wealth.” At
some point between President Washington and President Trump,

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 THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION

the federal government failed to heed Washington’s admonition and,

instead of focusing on the “welfare of the country,” began to focus on
its own welfare.
The aim of the federal government is for the country to flourish. Serv-
ing in the government is an act of dedication to that cause. It’s a risky
and daunting prospect, but it is what our fellow citizens have a right to
expect, and it is both noble and worthy.
The next presidential Administration will make thousands of deci-
sions and pursue hundreds of policies. What is most important about
each of those actions is how their outcomes affect individual Americans
throughout the land. It’s not the political fallout or how it plays in the
news: What matters about each and every action is how it contributes
to the flourishing of individual Americans.
In Mandate, we draw that connection between policy and outcomes.
We illustrate that in every policy endeavor, lives are altered. This book
goes beyond political posturing, and in each chapter, we show what is
really at stake for the Administration in any given decision.


Policy analysis, our specialty at The Heritage Foundation, is about

much more than number crunching and data analysis. It is also about
human impact. To analyze a policy properly, you have to describe your
values so that you know what variables you are trying to maximize.
Our value system begins with the individual. Even though the federal
government may seem far away and detached, its power is predicated
on the people. Our goal is simple: that as you read this book, you will
come to understand how the policy recommendations we are making
will affect you as an individual. In writing this volume, it was our aim to
describe policy decisions in terms of what is important to you. We hope
that means this will be the most meaningful policy book you will read.
Our experts don’t just write about individual values, however. They
also look at how policies will affect the economy, the family, our nation’s
physical and financial security, and—perhaps most important—our
future as a people. We think that means this will be the most compre-
hensive policy book you will read.

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 MANDATE 2020

Finally, rather than making recommendations in broad terms, we

have made them in the most specific terms. In the index, you will find
an accounting of every single policy recommendation, as well as who in
the federal government has the authority to act on it and which agency
has jurisdiction over it. Mandate 2020 is meant to be read not just by you,
but also by the government officials who can do something about it. We
know that means this will be the most impactful policy book you will read.
By reading this book, you will understand how the federal government
can step out of the way of civil society and allow Americans themselves
to shape the culture. Choice and competition, not a government take-
over, will ultimately deliver affordable health care to Americans who
need it most. Educational excellence is within our grasp, but we must
inject choice, freedom, and accountability to parents and teachers back
into schools. Today, the welfare system creates dependence, but we can
reform it to lift people out of poverty.
Fifty-five million lives have been lost to abortion. In this book, we


explain how to end it by restoring a culture that respects life. Free
speech and the free exercise of religion are paramount in American
life, but they are slipping away. In chapter five, we explore ways to
reverse that trend.
Mandate 2020 shows how the federal government can claw its way
back from its crushing debt and explains the proper scope and frame-
work for smart monetary policy. We show how the free market creates
jobs and benefits families. Our authors explore the terrible consequences
of wrongheaded climate policy and show how the federal government
can instead enact a sensible conservation ethic.
In the constitutional government section, Mandate 2020 discusses
citizenship and patriotism. The authors also address how to reform the
criminal justice system and safeguard the electoral process.
Finally, Mandate 2020 will show you how to assess defense and for-
eign policy. We explain our view of how best to secure the border and
protect us against cyber warfare. We consider threats to our nation from
rogue regimes around the globe and discuss nuclear deterrence, and we

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 THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION

explain how to deal with foreign allies and international organizations

most effectively.

Thomas Binion
Vice President, Government Relations
The Heritage Foundation
March 2020


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 14

Ensuring the Integrity of Our Election System

T he right to vote in a free and fair election is the most basic civil right
and one on which many other rights of the American people depend.
Protecting the right to vote and safeguarding the integrity and security of
our elections are fundamental to preserving and maintaining our great


Republic. The security of the ballot box cannot be left to a simple honor
system. Congress and the states must ensure that all eligible Americans
are able to vote and that their votes are not stolen or diluted by fraud or
administrative errors. Every American must be able to trust the process
and the result; otherwise, the democratic system itself breaks down.
Contrary to the claims of many liberals, the problem of voter fraud
is as old as the country itself. As the U.S. Supreme Court noted when it
upheld Indiana’s voter identification law, “flagrant examples” of such
fraud “have been documented throughout this Nation’s history by
respected historians and journalists.” The Court concluded that such
examples “demonstrate that not only is the risk of voter fraud real but
that it could affect the outcome of a close election.”1
Liberal groups often claim that known instances of fraud are inconse-
quential when compared to the total number of ballots cast in American
elections. However, as the National Commission on Federal Election
Reform chaired by former President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary
of State James A. Baker III concluded, the problem “is not the magnitude

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 THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION

of voter fraud. In close or disputed elections, and there are many, a small
amount of fraud could make the margin of difference.” Moreover, said
the Commission in its 2005 report, “the electoral system cannot inspire
public confidence if no safeguards exist to deter or detect fraud or to
confirm the identity of voters.”2
Numerous troubled elections bear out this assessment. In 2015, a
city council race in the New Jersey town of Perth Amboy was decided
by a mere 10 votes. A judge overturned the election and ordered a new
one after it was revealed that at least 13 illegal absentee ballots had
been cast. More recently, the mayor of Gordon, Alabama, was removed
from office after being convicted of voter fraud in an election with only
a 16-vote margin.
Similarly, a congressional race in North Carolina’s 9th District was
overturned by the state’s election board in 2019 because of illegal and
fraudulent activity involving absentee ballots in an election where the
margin of victory was less than a thousand votes. The 2003 mayoral pri-
mary in East Chicago, Indiana, was overturned by the state Supreme


Court after evidence of widespread fraud was revealed that led to

numerous convictions for election fraud. A new election resulted in a
different winner.
The Heritage Foundation’s election fraud database contains a sam-
pling of approximately 1,200 cases of proven fraud from across the
country, each of which has resulted in a criminal conviction, an official
finding of fraud, or an overturned election.3 Nor does this database rep-
resent the full scope of the problem. Unfortunately, election fraud too
often goes undetected, and even when it is discovered, many prosecutors
fail to pursue such cases. It does, however, serve as a sobering reminder
of the need for election safeguards.
As illustrated in the database, there are many different types of fraud:

ll Impersonation fraud at the polls: voting in the name of other

legitimate voters and voters who have died, moved away, or lost
their right to vote because they are felons but remain registered.

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 MANDATE 2020

ll False registrations: voting under fraudulent voter registrations

that either use a phony name and a real or fake address or claim
residence in a particular jurisdiction where the registered voter
does not actually live and is not entitled to vote.

ll Duplicate voting: registering in multiple locations and voting in

the same election in more than one jurisdiction or state.

ll Fraudulent use of absentee ballots: requesting absentee ballots

and voting without the knowledge of the actual voter or obtaining
the absentee ballot from a voter and either filling it in directly
and forging the voter’s signature or illegally telling the voter
for whom to vote.

ll Buying votes: paying voters to cast either an in-person or

absentee ballot for a particular candidate.


ll Illegal “assistance” at the polls: forcing or intimidating voters—
particularly the elderly, disabled, illiterate, and those for whom
English is a second language—to vote for particular candidates
while supposedly providing them with “assistance.”

ll Ineligible voting: illegal registration and voting by individuals

who are not U.S. citizens, are convicted felons, or are otherwise not
eligible to vote.

ll Altering the vote count: changing the actual vote count either in
a precinct or at the central location where votes are counted.

ll Ballot petition fraud: forging the signatures of registered

voters on the ballot petitions that must be filed with election
officials in some states for a candidate or issue to be listed on the
official ballot.

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 THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION

Under our Constitution, we have the most decentralized election

administration system of any Western democracy. States are generally
responsible for the administration of their electoral processes, includ-
ing elections for federal office. However, there are certain federal
standards and requirements that they must meet pursuant to applica-
ble federal laws such as the Voting Rights Act and the National Voter
Registration Act.
State governments must take their responsibility seriously and adopt
policies that are sufficient to secure their elections against fraud, includ-
ing efforts by noncitizens to vote and attempts by citizens registered in
multiple states to vote multiple times in the same election. They must
also oppose efforts by liberal groups to implement changes in voter
registration and election processes that are intended to make it easy to
cheat and difficult for election and law enforcement officials to detect
and prosecute fraud.

A LOOK BACK


The progressive left has created a false hue and cry about a supposed
loss of voting rights. They claim that support for reforms intended to
improve the integrity of the election process, such as voter identification
requirements and effective maintenance procedures for statewide voter
registration lists, amount to widespread, systemic “voter suppression”
of poor and minority voters.
In fact, there is no “voter suppression” epidemic. These new state
regulations and laws addressing the security of our elections, such as
requiring voter identification or participation in programs that com-
pare state voter registration lists, are not “voter suppression.” They
comply with existing federal voting laws that prohibit discrimination
and have neither hurt turnout nor prevented eligible individuals from
being able to vote.
“Voter suppression” is an artificially created term that unfairly con-
demns any perfectly legal election reform with which liberal critics

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 MANDATE 2020

disagree. It is a linguistic trick designed to taint reasonable and com-

mon-sense safeguards that protect voters by lumping these policies
together with illegal activities like poll taxes and literacy tests.
Critics of these reforms oppose every effort to improve the adminis-
tration of elections. Opponents allege that maintaining accurate voter
registration rolls to ensure that only eligible individuals cast ballots,
prosecuting actual cases of election fraud, and implementing basic
security reforms such as voter identification all amount to “voter sup-
pression.” Nothing could be further from the truth, and most Americans
agree. In fact, an overwhelming majority support reforms such as voter
identification requirements.
Election reform has had mixed success over the past four years. On
the one hand, 17 states now require a photo ID, and another 17 states
require a non-photo ID to vote. But that leaves more than a dozen states
(including large states like California and New York) and the District
of Columbia with no ID requirement of any kind and thus no security


system in place for voting. Also, only a handful of states apply an ID
requirement to absentee balloting in addition to in-person voting.
Every state that has passed a voter ID law subsequently has faced
a very expensive, years-long fight in the courts before its laws could
become effective. Liberal groups have lost almost all of those cases, with
only a handful of exceptions, but they continue to use a litigation strategy
to make it as difficult and expensive as possible for states to implement
election reforms.
Only four states have passed laws requiring proof of citizenship to
register to vote, and all of those have been tied up in lawsuits filed by pro-
gressive groups that oppose election integrity. Liberal groups are trying
to get states to stop participating in the Interstate Voter Registration
Crosscheck Program, a voluntary program run by the states in which
they compare their statewide voter registration lists to find voters who
are registered in more than one state.
Liberals have also taken to the courts to oppose all efforts by states to
increase the accuracy of their voter rolls and to remove ineligible voters.

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 THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION

There is no question that voter registration lists across the country are
filled with errors and inaccurate data and that states are doing a poor job
of maintaining those lists. Fortunately, in 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court
upheld Ohio’s procedures for removing from the state’s registration lists
the registered voters who have moved, died, or otherwise become ineligible
to vote. In Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute, the Supreme Court cited a
Pew Center study showing that “24 million voter registrations in the United
States—about one in eight—are either invalid or significantly inaccurate.”4
Unfortunately, liberals are also pushing so-called election reforms
that would make it easier to commit fraud, would increase the security
vulnerabilities of the current voter registration system, and might actu-
ally hurt turnout. These changes should be opposed. They include:

ll Automatic voter registration. Individuals are automatically

registered without their permission using other state databases
such as driver’s licenses, welfare recipients, or tax records. This
registers ineligible voters, including noncitizens, and leads to


multiple and duplicative registration of the same individual.

ll Same-day or Election Day voter registration. Individuals

can register and vote immediately. This gives election officials no
opportunity to verify the accuracy of the registration information
provided by the voter.

ll All-mail voting. Ballots are mailed to all registered voters. This

is particularly worrisome given the inaccuracy of statewide
voter registration lists. Mail ballots are the “tools of choice” of
vote thieves and are easily intercepted by party activists and
campaign workers who have the opportunity to change, alter, and
forge the ballots.

ll Allowing noncitizens (legal and illegal) to vote. There are

many public policy reasons why noncitizens should not be

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 MANDATE 2020

able to exercise the most important right that a citizen enjoys;

this is part of the liberal push to blur the line between citizens
and noncitizens.

ll Felon voting. The drive to allow felons to vote from prison or to

reinstate their ability to vote the moment they are out of prison,
before they have even completed any parole or probation or
paid any court-ordered restitution to their victims, turns law-
abiding citizens into victims. The recidivism rate among felons
is extremely high: 75 percent of felons are back in prison within
five years. Criminals who have broken the rules of civil society
should not get back the right to decide what those rules are until
they serve their entire sentence, repay their victims, and show (for
some period of time after they leave prison) that they have really
reformed and turned over a new leaf.


ll National popular vote plan. The push to eliminate the Electoral
College would elevate the importance of large, urban cities at
the expense of small states and rural areas. It would lead to
closer elections, more recounts, and increased litigation and
would encourage voter fraud. Most seriously, it would strike at
our federalist structure that balances popular sovereignty with
protections for state governments and minority interests.

MOVING FORWARD

There are many steps that the states can and should take to improve
election integrity and eliminate security vulnerabilities that exist in the
current system, but a number of reforms can be accomplished on the
federal level by Congress and the executive branch, including both the
Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. On
the federal level for federal elections, policymakers and executive branch
officials should:

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 THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION

ll Require a government-issued photo ID to vote in person

or with absentee ballots. A free ID should be provided to
the very small number of citizens who do not already have one.
Only IDs that are issued to citizens should qualify as acceptable
documentation unless the identification prominently displays
noncitizen status on its face.

ll Require proof of citizenship to register to vote. Only citizens

are allowed to vote in federal elections. Anyone registering to vote
should be required to provide proof that he or she is actually an
American citizen.

ll Give states access to federal databases. State election

officials who are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of
their voter registration lists should be given access to federal
information databases. This would include those maintained by
the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies


and departments, such as the Social Security Administration, to

verify citizenship status, identity, residence, and other factors that
determine the eligibility of registered voters.

ll Use federal jury information to detect ineligible voters.

Federal courts use state voter registration lists to find jurors
for federal trials. When those individuals are excused from jury
duty because they have moved out of the state or are noncitizens,
deceased, or felons, that information should be forwarded to
state election officials for eligibility determinations and to
federal prosecutors to investigate whether federal election laws
have been violated.

ll Deny citizenship to aliens who have illegally registered and

voted in violation of federal law. It is a felony for a noncitizen
to register and vote in federal elections. No alien applying for

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 MANDATE 2020

naturalization who has registered or voted in a U.S. election

should be approved for citizenship. The Department of Homeland
Security should be required to forward all such information to the
Department of Justice for investigation and possible prosecution,
and the Justice Department should prioritize voter fraud
investigations and prosecutions.

ll Reject any effort to abolish the Electoral College. Any state

compact to manipulate or alter the Electoral College requires
congressional assent. Such a compact should not be approved,
and any constitutional amendment to scrap the Electoral College
should be rejected.

ll Require regular monthly maintenance of statewide voter

registration lists. Too many states neglect taking the steps
necessary to maintain the accuracy of their voter registration


lists to find voters who have moved, died, or otherwise become
ineligible to vote. This should be done on a monthly basis. As
part of this effort, states should participate in programs like the
Interstate Voter Registration Crosscheck Program to identify
voters who are registered in multiple states.

CONCLUSION

Americans have an easier time registering and voting today than

they have had at any other point in our nation’s history. States, with
the assistance of the federal government, must ensure fair elections
that accurately reflect the will of the voters. This includes ensuring the
accuracy of voter registration rolls, requiring proof of identity and cit-
izenship to register and vote, and prosecuting cases of fraud to deter
future malfeasance. These reforms would help to improve the integrity
of every stage of the democratic process, from the casting of votes to the
counting of ballots.

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 THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION

ENDNOTES
1. Crawford v. Marion County Election Board, 553 U.S. 181, 128 S.Ct. 1610, 1619 (2008).
2. Commission on Federal Election Reform, Building Confidence in U.S. Elections: Report of
the Commission on Federal Election Reform, September 2005, p. 18, https://www.eac.gov/
assets/1/6/Exhibit%20M.PDF (accessed October 8, 2019).
3. See The Heritage Foundation, “Election Fraud Cases from Across the United States,” Heritage
Foundation Election Fraud Database, https://www.heritage.org/voterfraud (accessed
October 8, 2019).
4. Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute, 138 S.Ct. 1833, 1838 (2018).


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Founded in 1973, The Heritage Foundation is a research and educational
institution—a think tank—whose mission is to formulate and promote
conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise,
limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values,
and a strong national defense.

We believe the principles and ideas of the American Founding

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believe the most effective solutions are consistent with those ideas
and principles. Our vision is to build an America where freedom,
opportunity, prosperity, and civil society flourish.


Heritage’s staff pursues this mission by performing timely, accurate
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