Election Integrity “The issue today is the same as it has been throughout all history, whether man shall be allowed to govern himself or be ruled by a small elite.” Thomas Jefferson
I think that Thomas Jefferson would agree that for us to govern ourselves we must have election integrity. Senate Bill (SB) 365 was debated on the Senate floor. The bill would have required all ballots to be submitted by 7 pm on election day. Not all counties treat ballots the same if the address on the ID doesn’t match a voter’s address. I carried an amendment that would have treated these ballots the same, provisional ballots across the state. Another amendment would have codified in statute removing duplicate registrations. A super majority of Senators agreed this should be law. I also carried an amendment to remove remote ballot drop boxes. It also passed. There were several amendments that went on the bill that would have increased security and accuracy of our elections. However, an amendment that passed raised some concern with a few Senators on federal compliance with Help America Vote Act (HAVA), which requires at least one electronic voting machine at each polling place, so the bill failed to get the constitutional majority of 21 to pass.
There are efforts to bring this legislation that had majority support to the Senate floor again.
It is an honor and a privilege to serve as your 12th District State Senator.
Caryn
…