Mail-in ballots became a hotly debated topic in the November election, with President Donald Trump warning for months that he could not guarantee a smooth transition of power if he saw evidence of fraud using the ballots. After the election, Trump accused Democrats of using late-night vote dumps in key states to swing results in Joe Biden’s favour.
Republican lawmakers in three battleground states have sponsored legislation to tighten up the security of mail-in ballots ahead of the 2022 midterms and the 2024 race.
Arizona
A separate bill, proposed by Republican state senator Michelle Ugenti-Rita, calls for the removal of voters from the permanent rolls if they don’t vote for two consecutive cycles in a row, and do not respond to a notice warning them that they will be taken off the rolls if they don’t respond. The lawmaker told CNN that the state legislature is also looking at making it a requirement for voters to get their mail-in ballots in before Election Day.
Armed Trump supporters at a protest now at the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office in Phoenix Arizona
Georgia
In Georgia, the swing state which carried out three gruelling recounts, each one whittling away at Biden’s lead due to “glitches” in voting machines and other irregularities, lawmakers led by GOP Senator Jason Anavitarte are proposing making it necessary for voters to provide photocopies of valid photo ID when applying for and returning absentee ballots. If approved, the bill would apply to absentee ballots the same standard already used during in-person voting. The bill provides exemptions for service members, their family and US citizens living overseas.
Republicans had previously blasted state election rules over a provision allowing voters whose mail-in ballots were spoiled to “submit corrections” until two days after the vote.
Georgia’s Republican Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan, who rejected Trump’s attempts to challenge the results of the November vote, expressed support for the voter ID idea, telling reporters last week that the idea was “the best step forward” and one that “fits the needs of 11 million Georgians, or at least the folks that are going to vote.”
Trump faced off against Georgia’s GOP establishment after the 2020 election, calling Governor Brian Kemp a “clown” and a “fool” and claiming that he had been “played” by Democratic operatives, and alleging that he won the state handily.
Pennsylvania
Overall, 28 states have already introduced, pre-filed, or plan to introduce over 100 bills to limit vote-by-mail access, impose stricter voter ID requirements, impose tighter voter registration policies or all for a purge of voter rolls.
The battlegrounds aren’t the only states where stricter rules have been proposed, with Mississippi and New York legislators proposing a proof of citizenship request to be able to register to vote, and South Carolina legislatures mulling a signature matching requirement for absentee ballots.
Trump spent nearly two months challenging the results of the November 2020 election, citing alleged fraud ranging from large-scale mail-in ballot dumps in the dead of night to voting machines being programmed to vote Biden. The president claimed that his election team had “hundreds and hundreds” of sworn affidavits and “thousands” of witness testimonies to back up his allegations.
However, his claims have not stood up in any state or federal court. Joe Biden, the Democratic Party, Democrat-leaning media and tech companies dismissed the fraud claims, with the latter eventually banning Trump from their platforms over his alleged “incitement” of a crowd of angry supporters who stormed the Capitol building on 6 January.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
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