Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is urging Congress to modernize and update existing federal election laws to improve election security and enhance public confidence in the electoral process and election outcomes.
In his letter, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger proposed four common-sense solutions to update the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).
“First, the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), also known as “Motor Voter” needs to be updated and modernized. This law made sense as written in the early 90s. However, with a mobile society and improvements in technology, it must be updated. According to the US Census Bureau, over 7 million Americans move to a different state every year. The 90-day blackout periods, and the onerous procedures to remove voters who no longer live in a state, allow voter lists to be more and more out of date. This is especially true for states that do not prioritize even following the low bar set for list maintenance in the current NVRA. This must be addressed. Strong, more consistent list maintenance will enhance election administration, lower costs, and enhance confidence in election outcomes.
Second, for all federal elections, we need photo identification requirements in all modes of voting. Again, technology exists to make this easy. Election research shows that Voter ID laws do not impact turnout, which is consistent with the record turnout Georgia experienced in 2022. Nearly 80% of Americans support Photo ID for voting. SB202, Georgia’s Election Integrity Act, moved Georgia away from a subjective verification method for absentee voting– signature match – and provided an objective form of verification – photo identification. Implementing a nationwide photo ID requirement would be a significant step in helping ensure the integrity of elections across the country.
Third, there needs to be a ban on ballot harvesting in federal elections. No one should get between the voter and the…
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