Google has a long history of interfering in elections in favor of leftwing candidates. The search giant now leaves no doubt when it comes to which political party’s election-related legislation it boosts in search results.
MRC Free Speech America uncovered a troubling pattern in how Google treated two priority bills involving elections and free speech. One bill was championed by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats and the other is backed by Speaker Mike Johnson and House Republicans, but in both searches, Google shamelessly amplified narratives favorable to the left.
In a search for Nancy Pelosi’s controversial H.R. 1, or the For the People Act of 2021, Google almost exclusively provided links to articles and opinion pieces supporting her radical agenda. Meanwhile, in a search for H.R. 22, or the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, Google aggressively steered users to left-wing think tank organizations that criticized reforms designed to protect against election fraud. The latter bill was introduced earlier this month by conservative stalwart Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) and supported by Speaker Johnson.
H.R. 1, dubbed the “Corrupt Politicians Act” by The Heritage Foundation, drew fierce criticism from Republicans for trampling First Amendment liberties and undermining election integrity, but Google users would not know this based on search results. For instance, the bill mandated that states auto-register even ineligible voters and would have forced non-profit organizations to disclose their donors. When MRC and The Heritage Foundation pointed this out in 2021, Facebook censored its post and in MRC’s recent search, Google similarly buried stories and reports that revealed the grizzly truth about Pelosi’s pet legislation.
Instead, the search giant propped up leftist outlets like Vox, USA Today, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Associated Press and PBS—all of which ironically hailed H.R. 1 as legislation that would protect “voting rights.” The Times even praised Congress for usurping power from the states with the headline: “Targeting State Restrictions, House Passes Landmark Voting Rights Expansion.”
The only search result that was critical of the Pelosi legislation was a press release from Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX) who found the bill disturbing, saying it would "fully cement the swamp."
Google’s treatment of the more recent Republican bill was similarly skewed in favor of the left. When MRC researchers searched the name of the bill, Google produced over twice as many links trashing the bill as supporting it on the first page of search results.
Most of the links the search giant elevated sent users to left-wing sources urging Members of Congress to vote no, arguing that it would be an undue burden to verify that all voters are U.S. citizens.
One such organization, the Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association, argued against cleaning up voter rolls and removing noncitizens. Civic Nebraska went further, patronizing Midwest voters by arguing mail-in voting restrictions unfairly burden rural communities. Other groups piling on included the League of Conservation Voters, the League of Women Voters, and the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
Google even elevated a clip posted on the communist Chinese government-tied TikTok platform. The video was an interview with journalist Katie Couric and left-wing historian Heather Cox, falsely accusing the Republican Party of attempting to commit “election fraud” on the American public through the passage of the SAVE Act.
Google’s search results for the Republican bill began with a link to a press release put out by Rep. Rick Allen’s (R-GA) office praising the legislation. Aside from his press release, the only other right-leaning voices breaking through were videos: one from Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) celebrating the bill’s passage in an Instagram post and another from Rep. Douglas LaMalfa (R-CA) endorsing it in a Facebook post.
Methodology: Using the web browser Brave in a private window to limit prior search history and cookies that could impact results, MRC Free Speech America Researchers searched Google for the words “H.R.1 - For the People Act of 2021” limiting the results to the week the bill passed the House of Representatives (3/3/2021 - 03/09/2021). Researchers similarly searched Google for the words “H.R.22 - SAVE Act” limiting the results to the week it passed the House (4/10/2025 - 4/16/25). Researchers then analyzed the results for political bias.
Free Speech is under attack. Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment and provide an equal platform for all users. If you have been censored, contact us using MRC Free Speech America’s contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
