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Election integrity possible in Delaware

June 14, 2021

When the Delaware Food Bank made food available during COVID times, they state on their flyer that you must bring ID and proof of Delaware residency.  They are not trying to withhold food from people that need it; they are making sure that they are serving Delawareans and people that live in our state.

When people apply for Medicaid or state assistance, DHSS asks for proof of residency, proof of age and require a birth certificate or a driver’s license. It’s not because they want to deny people services; it is because they are securing the integrity and accountability to those they serve in Delaware.

I recently visited a county park and used the restroom provided.  I noticed that the toilet paper holder had a padlock on it.  At first I laughed, but then thought about it and realized this was done to keep people from stealing the toilet paper.  It wasn’t done to keep them from using the facilities. They were just being good stewards of the resources given them and provided by our tax dollars.

If these precautions are taken to secure the integrity of our agencies, then why are they not used to secure the integrity of our elections?  

In Delaware, a person can bring the voter card issued by Department of Elections and vote - that’s all they need.  They can do this even if they no longer live in the same senate or representative district, which skews the local vote.  They do not have to prove they are the person named on the voter card - they just vote.  Delaware needs to make sure that all legal votes count, and voters need to show a state-issued ID so that there is no question that the person voting is who they say they are and there is no question that they are legally allowed to vote in Delaware elections. We need to protect our election integrity in Delaware.  Here are a few examples of how we can achieve election integrity:

• Voters need to show a state-issued ID to prove they are who they are and are legally allowed to vote in our state.  You can’t get other services in our state without this, so it should be a given for elections.

• Citizenship status of voters needs to be verified before they are placed on our election rolls.

• Eliminate putting a D or R on primary election mail-in ballots.  A barcode or QR code could be used and would eliminate the temptation to destroy or dispose of a ballot due to party affiliation as it goes from voter to Department of Elections.

• Ban ballot harvesting by third parties and other groups collecting ballots or ballot requests which would eliminate pressuring vulnerable voters at home to vote in a certain way.

• Voters need to make sure they provide information to the Department of Elections if they move to another district or out of state so they can keep voter rolls up to date.

• Delaware should prohibit the tabulation of early in-person and and mail-in voting before polls close on election day.  

• Absentee ballots should only be issued to those that are unable (have an excuse) to physically go to the polls on election day.

It is disingenuous to act as if requiring a valid state ID to establish the identity of the voter is voter suppression.  You cannot do anything else in our state without this. In fact - you cannot enter Legislative Hall without this.  Let’s stop using this as an excuse and instead require identification that assures voter integrity for Delaware.

Cheryl Precourt
Dover
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