There once was bipartisan agreement on voter fraud.
After the counting of hanging chads in Florida, Congress passed the Help America Vote Act in 2002.
That law lists acceptable forms of identification if a voter is challenged on Election Day.
They are an individual’s voter registration card, Social Security card, or valid driver’s license; any government-issued identification card; any employee identification card that contains a photograph of the individual; and a copy of a current bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows the name and current address of the individual.
Maryland enacted these protections in 2006. I introduced the bill.
In Texas, on the other hand, a permit to carry a concealed weapon is acceptable identification but not a student’s college ID.
“Mail ballots, they cheat,” said President Trump this week. “They are fraudulent in many cases.“
Under Maryland law, a voter may designate someone to pick up and deliver an absentee ballot, in a writing signed by the voter under penalty of perjury. That individual must also execute an affidavit under penalty of perjury that the ballot was delivered to the voter who submitted the application; marked and placed in an envelope by the voter or with assistance, as allowed by regulation, in the agent’s presence; and returned to the local board of elections by the agent.
In addition, a voter who requires assistance in casting an absentee ballot by reason of disability, inability to write, or inability to read the ballot may be assisted by any individual other than a candidate who is on that ballot, the voter’s employer or an agent of the employer, or an officer or agent of the voter’s union.
Let me know if you have an additional way to reduce the possibility of fraud, without imposing an undue burden on an individual’s right to vote – in person or by mail.
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I wrote a letter to the Baltimore Sun about limits on our First and Second Amendment rights during this pandemic.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/opinion/readers-respond/bs-ed-rr-second-amendment-letter-20200409-zvohb4626vb3djkzg3vsw2vp4u-story.html
