How do states ensure dead people’s ballots aren’t counted?
Kelli Johnson talks to Tom Schreiner about how his state is making it as difficult as possible for their citizens to get their votes counted.
An Oregonian/OregonLive file Photo
Election reform advocates are already getting ready to hit the road.
In July, the U.S. House of Representatives is set to introduce legislation that would require states to do the same. The bill is backed by U.S. Reps. John Conyers and Elijah Cummings, both Democrats from Michigan, and would require states to allow elections officials to access voter information that can be used to prove a voter’s eligibility or dispute a voter’s voter registration.
In Oregon, a proposed ballot measure backed by the Oregon Justice Department is heading for the ballot in November, arguing that requiring voter eligibility information would have two primary effects: make it possible for illegal aliens to vote, and, for those without citizenship, make it harder for them to get ballots.
“Right now, a voter has to prove a lot to a lot of people that you’re a citizen, or your voter registration is valid, to get a ballot,” U.S. Rep. T.J. Rooney, R-Fla., said in an interview. “This bill would solve that problem by saying you do have to prove you’re a citizen, and that puts it beyond the voter’s ability to determine. That is the problem that we’re facing.”
The measure, HB 3, would require elections officials to have a current voter identification number to use to cast a ballot in Oregon. It would also require election officials to send out notice when a voter does not have a voter identification number and offer opportunities to get one.
It does not, however, require them to send out a reminder when the state’s voter roll is about to expire. The deadline when voter roll data is due to expire is Oct. 31.
In the case, for example, of an Oregon voter who does not