TPPF's election integrity proposal a good start

"Do not remove the ancient landmark
Which your fathers have set."
Proverbs 22:28

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TPPF Outlines SAFE Elections Agenda to Improve Election Integrity in Texas 

AUSTIN— Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Election Integrity Project released the “Secure, Accountable and Free Elections” agenda outlining reforms to ensure Texas is a model for accurate and reliable elections throughout the country. The SAFE Elections agenda targets six specific areas to safeguard the rights of Texans, improve the integrity of the elections process, and promote better participation and understanding of our election system. 

“Voters should understand their rights and the rules of voting, they should be free to choose, and the voting system should preserve the integrity of each ballot,” said TPPF’s Director of the Election Integrity Project Francisco “Quico” Canseco. “The SAFE Elections agenda ensures that every citizen’s basic democratic right to vote is protected from intentional fraud and inefficient bureaucracy. As a fundamental feature of keeping our public officials accountable and our society free, our voting rights must be defended vigilantly.” 

The Secure, Accountable and Free Elections agenda proposes reform in the following areas: 

• Require all voters for all offices to be United States citizens and require proof of citizenship at voter registration. 

• Remove all non-voters from voter-registration lists after a set number of missed cycles, following a given notification period. 

• Require the Texas Secretary of State to perform a full audit of all county voter-registration lists every five years. 

• Improve Texas’ vote-by-mail system by conducting all operations within the Office of the Secretary of State, including all counting and storage, and strengthen qualifications, such as implementing a defined disability-verification process. 

• Strengthen coordination between the Texas Secretary of State’s elections division and Texas counties through measures such as standardized voter-registration information and communication. 

• Increase criminal penalties for persons committing voter-assistance fraud, and prohibit certain persons from soliciting voters to provide voter assistance.

The part about mandatory audits of voter rolls to remove the ineligible is huge.  Likewise, the enhanced criminal penalties.  That being said, last year's debacle in the Midland ISD bond election illustrates why we need paper backups.

Bottom Line:  All of this should have happened a year ago.  But hope springs eternal.  Better late than never.