Protecting Our Elections and Our Voters
By Kenneth Romero, NHCSL Executive Director
Download the 2024 Fall Edition of NHCSL's Newsletter here.
In the last few elections, unbased accusations of election fraud have dominated the public discourse months before –– and after –– voters head to the polls. These alarm bells should prompt state legislators to protect the right to vote, in the upcoming 2025 session, from those who seek to undermine it under the pretense of so-called “threats of fraud” that simply do not exist.
For the past six years, NHCSL has urged state legislatures to implement legislation that ensures minimum due process and robust safeguards for voter roll management. Key recommendations from our Res. 2018-18 Expanding Voting Opportunities for All Americans include prohibiting the removal of any voter from the rolls within 90 days prior to an election and dismissing any unresolved cases regarding a voter’s registration in favor of the voter if they have not been finalized by that deadline. Additionally, if a voter-roll administration official intends to delete someone from the rolls, they must provide clear verbal and electronic means for the voter to maintain their registration, as well as make multiple good-faith attempts to contact the voter using all available information in the voting records.
Furthermore, if the official is unable to reach the voter, they should notify state and local tax authorities to assist in locating the individual. Voters who have paid taxes in the last two years should not be removed from the rolls unless there is evidence of their death or registration elsewhere. In cases where tax activity cannot be found, elected officials representing the voter's last known address should be informed of the intent to delete the voter, allowing them the opportunity to reach out. And lastly, a publicly accessible online list of intended deletions should be published, similar to court edicts, to ensure transparency and provide voters ample time to respond.
As part of our ongoing commitment to safeguarding legitimate voters from undue disenfranchisement, we urge state policymakers to enact robust legislation that guarantees minimum due process and comprehensive safeguards in voter roll management.
After bad ballot design issues cast a cloud over the results of the 2000 presidential election, Congress enacted the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA), creating the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) with the mandate, among other things, of issuing voluntary guidance on voting system standards and serving as a clearinghouse for studies regarding election administration issues and other activities to promote the effective administration of Federal elections.
Poor ballot design can lead to significant problems, with thousands of ballots being undervoted or miscast each election cycle, disproportionately affecting the elderly, new voters, and minority groups. That why, in 2019, NHCSL began advocating for a ballot design standard that enhances clarity and reduces unintended undervotes while embracing electoral innovations such as ranked-choice voting and multi-winner elections. Well-designed ballots are key to fostering trust and greater engagement in the electoral process.
As we approach the upcoming elections, it is imperative that we remain vigilant in protecting the integrity of the voting process against unfounded claims of fraud that threaten to disenfranchise legitimate voters. We need to carry our commitment to safeguarding electoral participation to our Capitols and introduce comprehensive legislation to ensure robust voter roll management and transparent practices that protect all future elections.