Republican National Committee Makes Renewed Drive for Election Integrity

On Tuesday, the Republican National Committee (RNC) released an emailed statement describing a new effort at ensuring election integrity. The RNC has made a records request to 48 states, seeking information as to how they maintain and control voter rolls.

The emailed statement reads in part:

Today, the Republican National Committee (RNC) launched one of its largest ever records requests related to state voter rolls. Specifically, the RNC sent public records requests to the chief election officers of 48 states and the city of Washington, D.C. seeking documents on how they maintain their voter registration lists.
Under the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and state public records laws, states have to retain and provide records to the public on how they are maintaining accurate lists of registered voters. The American people have a right to know if states are effectively taking steps to remove ineligible individuals from the voter rolls, including the deceased, criminals, out-of-state movers, and non-citizens.

The RNC Chairman, Michael Watley, also spoke to the matter in the email.

"The RNC is once again taking action to make our elections more secure,” said RNC Chairman Michael Whatley. “Voters have a right to know that their states are properly maintaining voter rolls and quickly acting to clean voter registration lists by removing ineligible voters. If states unlawfully block our requests, or if we discover that states have failed to accurately maintain their voter rolls, the RNC stands ready to act.”
The RNC’s records requests are part of its comprehensive election integrity program. The RNC is working to increase transparency in our elections and stands ready to ensure transparency if states do not comply.

Note that the statement mentions 48 states; the two excluded are North Dakota and Maryland. North Dakota, according to the email, has no formal voter registration system. Why Maryland was excluded is not explained.

The records are requested as per 52 USC 20507(i), which states:

(i) Public disclosure of voter registration activities

(1) Each State shall maintain for at least 2 years and shall make available for public inspection and, where available, photocopying at a reasonable cost, all records concerning the implementation of programs and activities conducted for the purpose of ensuring the accuracy and currency of official lists of eligible voters, except to the extent that such records relate to a declination to register to vote or to the identity of a voter registration agency through which any particular voter is registered.

(2) The records maintained pursuant to paragraph (1) shall include lists of the names and addresses of all persons to whom notices described in subsection (d)(2) are sent, and information concerning whether or not each such person has responded to the notice as of the date that inspection of the records is made.

This is interesting; a renewed push for nationwide voter ID requirements would be even more interesting.

House Republicans Rolling Out Major Package of Election Security Measures - but No Voter ID?

Election integrity is becoming a major issue in the United States. A recent Rasmussen survey, for example, indicated that around 60 percent of Americans favor a return to paper ballots. Another survey reported that less than half of Americans are "very confident" that their votes were properly counted.

It's belaboring the obvious to note that, in a constitutional republic like ours, elections must be clean, valid, and must have the confidence of the people. A requirement that voters must show a valid photo ID before voting would go a long way to restoring our trust in elections - that, and making sure the votes are accurately tallied.

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