Mr. Tangen’s letter is misleading (“Oppose election bill H.R. 1,” Our Readers’ Views, April 1). “Ballot harvesting” refers to a voter allowing some chosen person to take his/her ballot to a drop or mail box. He complains that a Democratic activist could collect ballots, neglecting the fact that a Republican activist could do the same. Factually, 49 states accept some form of ballot harvesting.
For same-day registration Mr. Tangen ignores the fact that 21 states and D.C. already use it. It is open to “eligible” voters. H.R. 1 expands this capability to all 50 states. As with our vote overall, instances of voter fraud in these states is a tiny fraction of 1 percent of votes cast.
And yes H.R. 1 would require a workaround for voter ID laws, where an eligible voter would be allowed to sign a sworn statement, under penalty of perjury, that he/she is eligible. This provision supports the rights of eligible voters who have little or no access to obtaining the specified voter ID. It is estimated that as many as 3 percent of eligible voters fall into this category.
H.R. 1 eliminates gerrymandering, strengthens fraud protections, and much more to protect our vote.
Support honest and fair elections. Tell your senators to vote “Yea” for H.R. 1.
