FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 29, 2021
Contact: Prudence Robertson, probertson@sbalist.org, (240) 672-2828
Washington, D.C. – Today the Texas Legislature announced an agreement on landmark election integrity legislation to help protect fair, transparent, and secure elections Texas elections.
Most importantly, the legislation includes voter I.D. protections standardizing I.D. requirements for ballots-by-mail and voting in-person. Voting-by-mail in Texas has lacked the protections that voting in-person provides; ballots can get lost, signature validation can be subjective, and the ballot can be vulnerable to fraud, voter intimidation, or deception. In mid-March, polling by WPA Intelligence found 81% of Texans think voting by mail should have the same voter I.D. protections as voting in person.
The legislation would further ensure that voter lists are accurate and that registrars do their duty in maintaining them, prevent the sending of unsolicited mail in ballots, define ballot trafficking and increase criminal penalties for this offense. Additionally, it ensures the disability provision allowed for voting-by-mail is not exploited by bad actors, more fairly allocates voting hours and machines, and strengthens provisions relating to security in elections administration. A separate bill, HB 2283, prohibits private ideological groups, corporations, and Big Tech companies from funding local elections to selectively affect turnout.
National Chairman of the Election Transparency Initiative and former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli praised the landmark election legislation:
“After months of hard work, we’re grateful that the Texas House and Senate have come together in a truly historic effort to deliver more fair, secure and transparent elections all Texans can trust. Asking voters to show an I.D. to vote is simply common sense – there is no reason why voting-by-mail should have fewer safeguards than voting in-person. A consistent voter I.D. requirement will ensure that all voters play by the same set of rules and that every Texan’s vote is counted fairly and legally. Americans have the right to be confident that it is easy to vote and hard to cheat in our elections, and that is why ensuring voting is easy and accessible cannot come by eliminating voting safeguards.”
According to polling released by the Honest Elections Project, Americans of all backgrounds and political persuasions overwhelmingly favor requiring that voters show ID to vote:
- 64% of voters, including Black (51%) and Hispanic (66%) voters, as well asurban (59%) and Independent (61%) voters, want to strengthen voting safeguards that prevent fraud – not eliminate them.
- 77% of voters, including strong majorities of Republicans (92%), Independents (75%), and Democrats (63%) all support requiring voter ID.
- 64% of Black voters, 77% of Hispanics, and 76% of low-income voters reject the notion that presenting a form of ID at the ballot-box is a “burden.”
- Two-thirds of voters (66%) support increased protections on absentee voting, like requiring voter ID to vote absentee, which proposed federal bills, H.R.1 and S.1 expressly forbid, contrary to the clear will of the American people.
Separately, Rasmussen found 75% of likely U.S. voters say that showing a photo I.D. to vote is necessary for a “fair and secure election process.” Additional polling from Rasmussen found that 85% of registered voters said it is “common sense” to require photo I.D.
The Election Transparency Initiative, a partnership between American Principles Project (APP) and the national pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List), was organized to combat H.R. 1/S. 1 and advocate for state-based election reforms that voters can trust.
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