Keeping elections secure and voting easy

Have you ever had issues voting because of work, long lines, rules on which ID is acceptable, confusion on absentee or mail-in voting, or some combination of these?

Or, if you have moved from one state to another, have you been confused because voting rules vary between states?

Congress has just introduced some new legislation that could fix these concerns and make it easier for us, the voters, to vote without these hassles. The Freedom to Vote Act, House Resolution (HR) 11 and Senate Bill (SB) 1 have recently been introduced. The Freedom to Vote Act contains some basic, common-sense rules that would apply to all states. For starters, it requires that no citizen have more than a 30-minute wait to vote. I volunteered as a poll worker in November 2020 (during COVID) and some voters waited more than an hour to vote - most unhandy! It also includes two weeks early voting, with evening and weekend hours for voter convenience, which should also help lines on election day. Importantly, it protects against partisan, post-election attempts to tamper with results and expands penalties for destroying voting records. It creates a national standard for mail-in voting, protects voters with disabilities, standardizes the forms of identification to vote, and for the computer savvy, allows online registration to vote (which 42 states already have). States are also required to conduct post-election, transparent audits under this legislation.

I recently attended the Clinton County election machine testing, which was announced in The Leader and open to the public. The folks conducting this testing were helpful and carefully explained how the process works. I’m sure Clinton County would do well

Letter To The Editor

conducting a transparent election audit.

There are several other common-sense items in this bill, and given that Congressman Graves is on his fiveweek August recess, now would be a great time to give his office a call or email him with your support for these changes. Like most Americans, we simply want to vote, not spend all day doing so, and we want our vote to be counted correctly. What a concept!

Elizabeth Franklin Plattsburg, Mo.