FLORIDA - SENATOR RICK SCOTT 11/12/2020

 

In Case You Missed It! U.S. Sen. Rick Scott: Here’s How We Restore Trust in Our Election System

In case you missed it, Senator Rick Scott wrote an op-ed for Fox News on how the coronavirus pandemic changed the way Americans vote, and why Congress must pass his Verifiable, Orderly, & Timely Election Results (VOTER) Act to establish uniform standards for vote-by-mail across the country and help restore Americans’ trust in the voting system. Senator Rick Scott wrote, "Free and fair elections are the foundation of our democracy. The stability of our nation and trust in our system of government relies on the stability and confidence in our election systems. I always say we need 100% participation and 0% fraud in our elections. Right now, we are seeing what happens when that trust disappears and the legality and integrity of our elections remains uncertain. The American people do not have confidence in our electoral process, resulting in an increasingly fractured America. …This is not what America is about, and now more than ever, we have to work to protect the integrity of our elections and then make changes necessary to preserve our democracy. …The coronavirus pandemic changed everything this year, including how we vote. We saw an unprecedented amount of mail-in voting across the nation. Currently, the process for mail-in voting varies by state, with different deadlines for requesting, returning and receiving mailed ballots.  …We need standards nationwide to ensure voters decide the outcomes of elections. My VOTER Act would ensure the security, reliability and orderly conduct of elections by creating nationwide standards for vote-by-mail systems. Voter ID is an important part of that, and states should not allow same-day voter registration, which is a recipe for fraud. The VOTER Act also protects the integrity of federal elections with fraud prevention measures and requires all eligible ballots to be counted and reported within 24 hours after polls close on Election Day to promote certainty in the outcome of a federal election. Ballots should be submitted before the polls close on Election Day. …We live in the greatest country in the world where absolutely anything is possible. We must never give up on protecting the sacred right to vote. Passing my VOTER Act is a common-sense step we can take right now to ensure any future election is decided in a timely manner by the American people. This is not a partisan bill in the least, it’s merely a common sense and fair approach." Read the full op-ed HERE.

In September, Senator Rick Scott introduced the Verifiable, Orderly, & Timely Election Results (VOTER) Act. Currently, mail-based absentee voting in federal elections is governed by a patchwork of state laws, with varying deadlines for requesting, returning and receiving mailed ballots. As states pursue the expanded use of mail-in ballots, the VOTER Act will ensure the security, reliability and orderly conduct of federal elections. The bill also creates a deadline for state election officials to tally and report the election results to avoid prolonged uncertainty in the outcome of a federal election. Read the full text HERE.