I’ve got a problem with “election integrity.”
The rush to new requirements, like sworn oaths to register, mandates to ensure voters have proper IDs at the polls or when voting by mail ― are all being pushed through the legislative process on the eve of a consequential election by a major political party that’s becoming nervous about losing clout in Washington. The Republican angst is palpable.
It’s almost as if they can’t win an election without coming up with some devious way to overturn the scales, like the recent debacle in Dallas that left many Democratic primary votes in the Texas Senate primary uncounted, President Trump’s rant urging his fellow Republicans “to take over the voting,” even though nationalized elections are, at the moment, unconstitutional and the federal Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, legislation that would require all Americans to prove their citizenship every time they register to vote and show IDs when voting in person or by mail.
Even in the ruby-red state of Florida, Republicans in the Florida Legislature are trying to gum up the voting process with their own bills that would require oaths affirming U.S. citizenship during voter registration, mandating ballots be a printed sheet of paper that require pens or markers to complete and forcing various IDs to be shown before voting.
It apparently doesn’t matter that citizenship is already a legal requirement and that noncitizen registration or voting is rare. Fueled by the fable that noncitizens are going to the polls in droves, state lawmakers have brought House Bill 991 and Senate Bill 1334 that require voters to show proof that they are indeed U.S. citizens when they register or vote.
Yeah, yeah. I can hear the “election integrity” response now. “Mr. Lyons. What rabbit hole have you been stuck in? America doesn’t have a problem with showing proper identification to vote. Get with the program!”
I get all that. I’ve seen the polls: The Pew Research Center findings that found 83% of Americans favor requiring government-issued photo ID to vote, with 95% of Republicans and 71% of Democrats in agreement, and the Gallup poll with 84% favoring photo identification to vote and 83% providing proof of citizenship when registering to vote.
Impressive, but unfortunately beside the point.
Election integrity in and of itself isn’t the issue. It’s the timing of this renewed push to get voting right that’s the problem. The changes of such legislation, and the resulting consequences will come to close to the upcoming vote.
Too many citizens who can now vote simply lack the IDs to meet the show-us-your-papers mandate. How many seniors have their birth certificates, much less naturalization papers, passports or even valid driver’s licenses? How many women who’ve been either divorced or recently married can readily produce documentation that our GOP-led governments want to make mandatory for voting? An estimated 9% of Americans of voting age ― 21.3 million people nationwide and 1.6 million Floridians ― don’t have the paperwork, according to a 2024 Brennan Center survey.
Weeks is certainly not enough time for those elderly voters who may not have the right ID to grapple with a state agency to come up with one in time to vote in Florida’s August primary. Same with women who may have had a name change due to marriage or divorce. Studies show these voters ― many Democrats ― would be impacted.
But, I guess that’s the point. Given how well Trump and his Republicans have addressed far more pressing issues facing the public, voter disenfranchisement might be their best defense before the voters have their say in the upcoming elections. Remember when Florida had , as Gov. Ron DeSantis put it, was “the gold standard” of elections. I do.
The fear of cheating isn’t the problem. The fear of losing is.
Douglas C. Lyons is an editorial writer and columnist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network-Florida. He can be reached at dclyons@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Showing papers is a fake ‘election integrity’ solution | Opinion
Reporting by Douglas C. Lyons, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
