While the U.S. Constitution gives initial authority to states to determine the “times, places and manner of holding elections” for Congress, that same exact section then adds: “but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations.” For example: This is how the national Election Day is set in federal law, rather than every state voting on different days.

The actual text of H.R. 1, which would allow 16- and 17-year-olds to register to vote, is meant to ensure that they will be registered by the time they are 18 years old and in time for Election Day. The bill also makes clear that this language has “no effect on state voting age requirements” and does not require a state to permit a person to actually vote while still under 18.

In addition, the House had specifically defeated a proposal to lower the voting age to 16, thus preserving the threshold at 18 years old.

Hannity's other charge, saying that bill's language criminalizing “misleading information about elections” could be used against campaign rhetoric about one's opponents, is also false. The bill's relevant language deals with forbidding misinformation that would “impede or prevent another person from exercising the right to vote,” such as false information having to do with “the time or place of holding any election,” or “the qualifications for or restrictions on voter eligibility.”

In short, that section is meant to stop voter intimidation — not to criminalize protected speech against a political opponent.

In addition, the bill would set a nationwide standard of restoring voting rights for felons once they are no longer in prison — which is already the law in 18 states, including red states such as Indiana and Utah.