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Election bills don't
represent real reform, say 18th District legislators
The two election-related
bills passed Thursday night and early Friday morning by the House of
Representatives are a long way from the comprehensive election reforms
voters deserve, say
Reps. Ed Orcutt
and Richard Curtis. Senate Bill 5499 and Senate Bill 5743 were adopted
without a number of key amendments that would have restored integrity to
the state’s election system in the wake of the disastrous November 2004
general election.
“Everybody wants real
reform. But that’s not what we saw in these bills. They would make our
laws on voting conform to the wishes of those who want the privilege of
voting without the responsibility of proving they are eligible to vote,”
said Orcutt, R-Kalama.
He and Curtis both backed
amendments which would make it clear that only U.S. citizens may vote in
Washington elections.
“These bills probably represented our last chance this session to adopt
the comprehensive, real election reforms the voters expected,” Orcutt
added. “It’s disappointing to realize the Legislature is going to fall
short.”
“It’s simple. We’re trying
to protect the rights of eligible voters, and that makes it imperative
that we require proof of citizenship when people register to vote, and
proof of identity when they cast their votes,” said Curtis, R-La Center.
“I had to go through a process to become a paramedic, and to become a
legislator. I had to earn the right to serve in these positions. It’s
the same situation for people who come to our country and want to vote.
There’s a process that needs to be followed to earn the right to vote.
“What’s wrong with proving citizenship and showing photo ID, if that
will help address some of the flaws in our election system? Apparently
that’s too much to ask,” said Curtis.
The key election reform amendments proposed, but rejected, included:
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Cleaning up the voter
rolls by requiring all voters to re-register by August 2006;
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Requiring photo ID at
the polls to prevent fraudulent voting, and make it a felony to
knowingly vote illegally;
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Making all ballots –
absentee, provisional, vote-by-mail and poll-place ballots – look
different to prevent them getting mixed before they are verified as
valid;
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Protecting the
integrity of absentee ballots by adding a second piece of ID
information to the ballot envelope, such as the voter’s birth date,
in addition to the signature match requirement;
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Preventing ballot
enhancements by election workers who attempt to “divine” what voters
may have intended by various marks on their ballot; and
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Allowing citizens to
challenging the legality of a voter by evidence that the voter does
not live at the residence on record.
“Everyone says they don’t
want to disenfranchise voters. But when a ballot cast by an ineligible
voter is cast, it cancels out the ballot of a qualified voter. And that
qualified voter is disenfranchised just as much as if he or she had been
prevented from casting a ballot in the first place,” said Curtis.
“It takes stronger proof
of identification to enroll a child in kindergarten than it does to
register to vote and walk into a voting booth,” said Orcutt, R-Kalama.
“The majority party adopted a feeble amendment that was portrayed as the
solution to the voter identification concern, but it’s not the
solution.”
“It was clear even before
the legislative session began that election reform would be one of our
biggest responsibilities. What the House passed Thursday night wasn’t
worth the 95 days we waited to vote, and comes up short of what is
needed to restore public confidence in our election system.”
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For more information, contact:
Brendon Wold, Public
Information Officer: (360) 786-7698
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