As the nation watches the news unfold about allegations of fraud and irregularities in some battleground states, Election Day in Alabama appeared to generally run smoothly.
Yet, while Alabama has better election laws than most of the states embroiled in controversy now, there is still room to improve the current rules on the books.
The state’s absentee ballot laws do not allow for the transparency that is needed to ensure there are not deliberate attempts to defraud the system. In addition, we need to make sure the state enforces all of the current laws regarding those absentee ballots.
But instead, some Democrats in the state have pushed for more liberal election laws including mail-in ballots with less stringent identification requirements that would make it even harder to verify identity. Those proponents are willing to sacrifice security of the ballot box because they perceive a political benefit to their party with lax rules.
Voter identification is of paramount importance in discouraging fraud and giving confidence to the voters in the integrity and accuracy of our electoral system.
Alabama voters should demand that the state’s election laws instill certainty at the ballot box rather than create suspicion. And when the Alabama Legislature is back in session, they should listen to those voters.
Paul DeMarco is a former member of the Alabama House of Representatives
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