Donald Trump may have won the 2024 presidential challenge, but the path to securing America’s primaries remains a long one.
Despite Kamala Harris ‘ unwavering triumph, the past and future president still has room for improvement in national election law that could be used by bad actors to stifle the democratic process. Fixing these flaws and maintaining dignity within the system are essential to upholding Americans ‘ believe in free and fair elections as Trump is set to win the White House and Republicans are poised to take control of both chambers of Congress.
1. The SAVE Act
Many Americans are increasingly concerned about the possibility that foreigners will vote in U.S. elections because of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris ‘ open border policies, which allow thousands of illegal aliens to storm across the country’s southern border.
In addition to the previously reported The Federalist, several states have removed tens of thousands of noncitizens from their voter rolls in just the last few weeks. Some also charged foreigners for allegedly casting ballots in elections.
While illegal alien voting is prohibited by federal statute, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility ( SAVE ) Act would close , existing loopholes , in the law that foreign nationals could exploit to register and cast ballots in U. S. elections.
Introduced by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, earlier this year, the costs “amends the National Voter Registration Act, establishing requirements for states to confirm U. S. citizenship” and “outlines appropriate documentation for proving citizenship and requires states to set up other verification processes for citizens without conventional documents”, according to a press release by Lee’s office. Additionally, the legislation” competitives claims to remove non-citizens from voting rolls and imposes national sanctions for intentionally registering non-citizens.”
]READ: The SAVE Act Could Hit Filibuster Wall In New Republican-Led Senate ]
2. The ACE Act
Introduced by Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., last year, the , American Confidence in Elections (ACE ) Act , includes , numerous provisions designed to close existing loopholes in America’s election system.
Among the act ‘s , significant proposals , is a clause revoking President Joe Biden ‘s , March 2021 professional order , that instructed thousands of federal authorities to , interfere , in the electoral process by using taxpayer money to increase voter registration and get-out-the-vote actions by collaborating with so-called “nonpartisan” third-party parties. Of course, many of the agencies identified as having worked with the management are  , really left-wing.
Federal organizations would be prohibited from conducting voter registration and recruitment actions by the ACE Act. Additionally, agencies would be required to renounce their” strategic ideas” to explain how they followed Biden’s attempt to Congress.
Additionally, the legislation would successfully make sure that only U.S. governments, not private actors, are able to finance election management. This delivery appears to prevent a repeat of the 2020 election, when left-wing organizations funded by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg dumped hundreds of millions of” Zuckbucks” into neighborhood election offices to gain Biden and Democrats.
By requiring voter identification and ordinary voting move maintenance, outlawing ballot harvesting and ranked-choice election, and repealing a local law allowing noncitizens to cast ballots in municipal elections, the ACE Act also includes other measures that would improve congressional oversight of Washington, D.C. elections. The bill also contains proposals to outlaw federal “disinformation governance boards,” strengthen donor disclosure protections, and promote voter ID.
3. The SHIELD Act
Steil’s other bill, which Trump and the incoming GOP Congress should quickly pass, aims to pass safeguards for campaign finance laws.
The legislation, referred to as the Secure Handling of Internet Electronic Donations ( SHIELD ) Act, would “prohibit political committees from accepting online contributions from debit or credit cards without the disclosure of the card’s verification value (‘CVV’ ) and billing address associated with the card,” according to a recent letter from the Wisconsin congressman. Additionally, the bill would forbid “individuals from knowingly aiding or abetting someone who makes a contribution in the name of another person” and would prohibit political committees from accepting donations via prepaid gift cards.
The legislation seeks to cut off alleged foreign election interference carried out on ActBlue, a Democrat-aligned fundraising platform. ActBlue has been the subject of a months-long investigation by the Steil-led House Administration Committee because it believes that foreign actors are using the company’s ostensibly lax donor verification procedures to funnel money to American elections.
4. HAVA
The Help America Vote Act ( HAVA ), a provision of the federal election law that was approved by Congress in 2002, calls for significant changes.
According to Senior Legal Fellow at the Conservative Partnership Institute ( CPI), Cleta Mitchell previously stated in these pages that the law “requires states to confirm any applicant seeking to register to vote in any state,” but not to require them to confirm an individual’s citizenship status.
No one could have imagined a day when an administration would adopt a “whole of government” policy that disregards the nation’s immigration laws and favors those who cross the border illegally, according to Mitchell, who wrote in the law passed by Congress in 2002. A driver’s license or a Social Security number are the only two methods that HAVA recommend for verifying citizenship status and identity, both of which are issued to noncitizens and neither of which confirm citizenship status.
5. UOCAVA
The United and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act ( UOCAVA ) was created to assist members of the armed forces and their families in casting ballots for U.S. elections while they are stationed overseas. Since its passage, however, several problems have emerged that a new Congress should address.
As Mitchell previously detailed,” UOCAVA has completely morphed from its original purpose of facilitating military voting”, with more than half (63 percent ) of 2020 UOCAVA ballots coming “from civilians,  , not members of the military”. The alarming lack of safeguards that states like North Carolina and Pennsylvania have implemented to ensure that only eligible U.S. citizens can cast UOCAVA ballots was made known by the CPI senior legal fellow.
6. End Post-Election Day Voting
Although the federal government established Election Day, many states have already done so to allow the receipt and counting of ballots in the days that follow any particular contest.
According to the Washington Examiner,” About 20 states, plus Washington, D. C., count mail-in ballots received post-Election Day, provided they are postmarked by Election Day”. In some cases, this has caused states to finish tabulating ballots and determine the results of intensely contested races, leading to a loss of trust in the system among Americans.
Trump and Republicans should n’t rely on the courts to solve a problem they have the authority to resolve, even though a legal case that winds its way through federal court might ultimately resolve the issue.
The Federalist staff writer Shawn Fleetwood graduated from the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClear Health, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
