BY FRANK VERNUCCIO
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley
has introduced a bill to ban ballot
harvesting in federal elections.
The measure, according
to the Missouri Republican, is
designed to protect election integrity
in response to disputes
during the 2020 presidential
election. The legislation
seeks to improve the ability
of campaigns to observe vote
counting operations, require
mail-in or absentee ballots to
be counted and recorded immediately
and require that
ballot counting, once begun,
continue until completed.
Hawley stressed that, “The
debacle of the 2020 election
has made clear that serious
reforms are needed to protect
the integrity of our elections.
The American people deserve
transparency — that means
banning ballot harvesting,
empowering poll watchers,
and taking steps to ensure
that all legally cast ballots are
accounted for. The confusion
and controversy of the 2020
election is not acceptable,
Congress must take action to
ban ballot harvesting in federal
elections and incentivize
states to do the same.”
Specifi cally, the measure
would: require that at least
two representatives of each
campaign be permitted to observe
polls and vote counting
operations; require mail-in or
absentee ballots to be counted
and recorded immediately
upon receipt, with no results
to be disclosed until after the
closure of polling places on
the date of an election; require
that ballot counting, once begun,
continue until completed
— no delays or pauses except
in the event of imminent emergency;
require states to maintain
round-the-clock video
surveillance monitoring of
absentee ballot drop boxes,
with unedited footage to be
made available upon request
to members of the public at no
charge; and impose requirements,
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,40 NOV. 27-DEC. 3, 2020 BTR
adapted from existing
Florida law, that mandate the
auditing of voting systems
and the reporting in advance
of preparations made for
upcoming general elections.
A companion bill has been
introduced in the House by
Rep. Mike Kelly, a Pennsylvania
Republican. Kelly described
the need for his measure,
H.R. 8753, designated as
the Protect Election Integrity
Act of 2020.
“As our nation waits patiently
for the offi cial results
of the 2020 presidential election,
one thing has become
abundantly clear: the administration
of the election
in several states has caused
millions of Americans to lose
faith in our electoral system,”
said Kelly. “The Protect Election
Integrity Act of 2020 will
help restore their trust, which
is essential to the health of
our republic.”
Trump campaign attorneys
have fi led more than 20
legal challenges in several
states, in addition to demanding
recounts in other jurisdictions.
U.S. Attorney General
William Barr has authorized
federal prosecutors to probe
alleged irregularities.
Due to the serious irregularities
in the 2020 campaign,
U.S. Attorney General Bill
Barr has authorized the United
States Department of Justice
to review the serious allegations.
In a letter to senior DOJ
staff, Barr stated: “Now that
the voting has concluded, it is
imperative that the American
people can trust that our elections
were conducted in such
a way that the outcomes accurately
refl ect the will of the
voters. Although the States
have the primary responsibility
to conduct and supervise
elections under our Constitution
and the laws enacted by
Congress, the United States
Department of Justice has an
obligation to ensure that federal
elections are conducted
in such a way that the American
people can have full confi
dence in their electoral process
and their government.”
The twin bills refl ect widespread
unease over a number
of challenges to electoral integrity
by both Republicans
and independent analysts.
The Gatestone Institute
has concentrated on problems
with the balloting software
used in many states. Trump
attorney Rudy Giuliani, cited
by Gatestone, emphasizes that
the software that was widely
used was developed by a company
called Smartmatic, a
company that was founded by
Hugo Chávez, and by his two
allies who still own it.
“It’s been used to cheat in
elections in South America.
It was banned by the United
States about a decade ago. It’s
come back now as a subcontractor
to other companies to
sort of hide in the weeds… Finally,
if you want to get down
to the votes, let’s pick Pennsylvania.
We have identifi
ed 632,000 illegal votes. It’s
enough to have the president
win the state by 300,000, which
is actually what he won it by,
if you get that Smartmatic
machine out.”
Editor’s note: All views in
this column refl ect the author’s
opinion and should be verifi ed
by outside sources.
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