Election Reform: The Way Forward and a Call to Action

In an age where confidence in the electoral process feels increasingly fragile, safeguarding the integrity of our elections is a mission that calls for courage and creativity. True the Vote’s bold ten-point plan aims to enhance transparency, security, and fairness without trampling individual freedoms or state sovereignty. These reforms are not just solutions—they are a roadmap to rebuilding trust in the bedrock of our republic. At the heart of this plan is a simple yet profound idea: empowering citizens through information, accountability, and participation.

Here’s a short summary of each point. Full details can be found at truethevote.org.

1. American Voter ID (AVID): Imagine a voter ID system so secure and decentralized that it protects both privacy and state autonomy while stabilizing federal elections. Using distributed ledger technology, AVID ensures every voter is verified.
2. Clean Voter Rolls: Inaccurate voter rolls are inexcusable. Data and technology are readily available to validate identity, residency, and citizenship—in real time. Federal postcard registrations and UOCAVA loopholes add to the problem through unregulated overseas registrations. With modern data management and enhanced state-federal collaboration, this plan ensures that voter lists reflect only qualified electors.
3. Secure Paper Ballots and Polling Infrastructure: Paper ballots offer a tangible audit trail. Combining a paper ballot, infused with security features, together with a beefed-up polling infrastructure and strict chain-of-custody rules, this streamlined process can become the gold standard for election security.
4. Transparent Ballot Tabulation: Real-time, public ballot tallies paired with robust, time-sensitive reconciliation processes can help turn skepticism into trust. Comprehensive audits will ensure every vote is accounted for—no black boxes, just open books.
5. Eliminate Ballot Drop Boxes: Unsupervised drop boxes are a weak link. Removing them closes a vulnerability, ensuring that every ballot’s journey is traceable and secure.
6. Reduce Mail Ballots: By limiting mail-in voting to exceptional cases, such as military personnel and individuals with disabilities, this reform minimizes risks such as ballot harvesting while still accommodating those in genuine need.
7. National Voter Information Campaign: Ignorance breeds mistrust. This campaign will arm voters with knowledge about their rights and the safeguards protecting their votes, restoring confidence in the process.
8. Equal Access to Election Data: Transparency shouldn’t be a privilege. Equal access to election data for public entities and auditors ensures accountability across the board.
9. Update and Enforce Federal Election Standards: Outdated laws like the National Voter Registration Act and the Help America Vote Act need a refresh to reflect modern challenges, as do the requirements stemming from the Department of Homeland Security’s oversight of elections as critical infrastructure. Though states dictate the time and place of elections, federal guidance could also help establish a single Election Day as a national holiday. Updates will bolster security while respecting state sovereignty and improving voter accessibility.
10. “Right to Try” Election Innovation: Innovation thrives when fear of lawsuits doesn’t choke competition. This initiative shields vendors from politically motivated lawfare, encouraging advancements that make elections more efficient and secure.

A Pro-Liberty Blueprint

This plan is as much about principles as it is about logistics. It strikes a delicate balance between protecting individual freedoms, empowering states, and addressing national concerns. By decentralizing control and fostering transparency, it aims to rebuild the trust necessary for a vibrant electoral system.

Why Citizens Are the Key to Change

Reforms like these don’t happen in a vacuum. They require citizens who are not just engaged but energized. History proves that when people take an active role—voting, advocating, volunteering, and holding leaders accountable—change becomes inevitable. History also proves that the government, left to its own devices, will not reform itself. Only the American people can drive these changes.

Time is short. Speak up. Participate. Help us shape a future where every vote is secure, and every voice is heard. Check out the full plan at truethevote.org, add your comments, contribute new ideas, and join in the effort. Writing about it is the easy part. We must execute on the plan. If our elections aren’t truly fair, we aren’t truly free, but if we work together—now—we really can true the vote.

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Catherine Engelbrecht is the founder of True the Vote, a Houston, Texas-based nonprofit organization devoted to preventing voter fraud.