Testimony of the Secretary of State for a Legislative Role Play

Testimony for a Legislative Role Play
Name
Institutional Affiliate
Testimony for a Legislative Role Play
Written Testimony
Of
Name
Secretary of State, XXXX
Before the
U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration
Wednesday, April 13, 2022
Good afternoon Madam Chair Klobuchar, Ranking Member Blunt and all the distinguished members of the Committee. My name is John Doe, the Secretary of State, XXXX. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Chair for her invitation to appear before this Committee and share my concerns on how the S.26 – Vote By Mail Act of 2019 may have negative implications on the integrity of our elections.
It is without a doubt that both the existing and proposed electoral policy reforms function to promote the integrity of our country’s elections across the local, state, and federal levels. I believe it is in the spirit of promoting and upholding the principles of democracy, upon which lays the country’s foundation, that the federal government and other stakeholders advocate for and implement these electoral policy changes. The said policy reforms intend to increase accessibility and eligibility to the voting process and thus promoting the integrity of the country’s elections. To that end, I have nothing but praise to the county’s elections policy reforms. I am, however, equally encouraged by the same spirit and belief of our forefathers on democracy in opposing the adoption of S.26 – Vote By Mail Act of 2019 in the state of XXXX. Contrary to the popular belief, voting by mail is a threat to the integrity of our local, state, and federal elections and not an effective interventional measure towards curbing the existing inadequacies or disparities in the country’s electoral system.
I will defend my objection to the adoption of the Act in my state by making various claims against the S.26 – Vote By Mail Act of 2019.
Voting by mail offers that any registered voter may be able to cast their vote without going through the hustle of in-person voting at the polls on Election Day. The only condition or requirement for voting by mail is meeting the deadline for returning the ballot. Such dispensations of this election policy reform increases the risk of fraud in federal elections and thus compromising the integrity of the same. Most prosecutions of election fraud in the United States are characteristic of illegally cast votes via mail. Election fraudsters have a tendency of illegally casting the absentee ballots and thus jeopardizing the validity of the process. Since the ballots are sent through the mail, the ballots of deceased registered voters may be cast by other individuals or groups with the intention of swinging the elections to their preferred or desired outcomes. The Act’s provision that the state should provide ballot materials to voters not later than two weeks before the date of any election promotes such fraudulent activities. A registered voter may have passed away or changed locations, either temporarily or permanently, before the arrival of the ballot materials and thus exposing the elections to illegal casting of the ballots. In essence, voter impersonation and coercion are more likely to occur in the c...