President’s Election Integrity Commission Seeking Public Comments

The Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, as part of its mission to serve the American people, is inviting public comment throughout the period of its work and particularly before the next meeting:

[T]he EIC is seeking to improve the public’s confidence in the process and outcomes of elections with the goal of increasing voter turnout, for all voters. At the next meeting of the EIC on Tuesday, September 12, at 10:00 AM, the EIC will hear testimony on how election integrity impacts voter confidence and voter turnout.  

Despite the hyperbolic rhetoric, studies and polls consistently show that election integrity is important to the American people and that greater election integrity will likely lead to greater voter confidence and turnout:

• An August 2016 Gallup poll found that 80% of Americans, including 77% of minorities and 63% of Democrats, support requiring photo ID prior to voting.
• The Gallup poll found that 68% of Americans view ballots cast by ineligible voters as a problem.
• An August 2017 Rasmussen Reports poll found that 70% of likely voters support requiring photo identification prior to voting.
• Voter ID requirements have been associated with higher turnout (or at a minimum, no effect on turnout):
• In 2016, many states with voter ID laws saw record turnout.
• Wisconsin has seen a steady increase in turnout since the enactment of its voter ID law.
• A 2006 study by John Lott, one of the experts testifying before the EIC on September 12, found that voter turnout in Mexico increased after adoption of a very strict voter ID law.  

Why does election integrity matter? Ineligible votes are what really disenfranchise voters:

1,852 non-citizens who were removed from the voter rolls in the past six years in Virginia had voted, casting 7,474 total illegal ballots. The 2013 attorney general’s race was won by just 907 votes. 

In July, Broward County, Florida, Democrat Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes admitted that noncitizens and ineligible felons do vote in “major elections” despite not being eligible, often as a result of the flood of new voter registrations submitted by activist groups directly before elections.  

What can you do? Submit a public comment on “laws, rules, policies, activities, strategies, and practices that enhance and/or undermine the American people's confidence in the integrity of the voting processes in Federal elections, as well as vulnerabilities in the voting systems and practices used for Federal elections.” Groups and individuals are encouraged to submit comments. Comments pertaining to the September 12 meeting must be submitted by Friday, September 8, at 5:00 PM. Additional information is available at: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=GSA-GSA-2017-0002-0104.

We invite all RNLA members and friends to submit comments by next Friday.