There should be an area of agreement between all reasonable people in the United States.  For our country to survive we must be able to trust the integrity of our elections.  If elected officials are abusing their power like they are in places like California right now, we need to have the ability to vote those people out of office or else there is no check against tyranny.  When dishonest politicians are able to steal elections, they will. 

Both Democrats and Republicans say that they want honest and fair elections.  Both parties have complained about the integrity of our recent and upcoming elections.  Unfortunately, they have different ideas about what is taking away the trust in our elections.  We heard a lot from Democrats about Russian interference in the 2016 election.  In fact, they have spent much of the last 4 years investigating it over and over again.  Many of you may wonder how they allege that the Russians changed the outcome in 2016.  Did they somehow hack our voting systems and change the vote counts?  Did they fly in Russians to swing states where they cast illegal votes?  No.  The alleged Russian interference is that they said mean things about Hillary Clinton on Facebook.  While that may be frustrating to Hillary fans, it does not actually make it easier for anybody to cast fraudulent votes.  Plus, how many of you would change your vote because some stranger said something mean on Facebook?

Republicans ask a different question about voting that we should all agree is important.  Do we know who is casting the votes in our elections and that no shenanigans are happening with those votes?  If we don’t it opens the door to voter fraud, stolen elections, and the end of our government of the people, by the people, and for the people.  Do not fall for the media line that very few people get convicted of voter fraud so nobody does it.  That’s like saying a Las Vegas club that doesn’t check ID’s has no underage people inside because no underage people got caught. 

How can we be more confident about who is voting and that they are correctly counted?  The only way to be sure is to require in person voting, on Election Day, with matching photo ID to verify that the person is who they say they are.  It’s easy and it’s common sense.  Unfortunately, not everybody wants to have honest elections. 

Each state sets up their own election laws, so some are far more reliable than others.  Some are unwisely pushing for mail-in voting, with nobody there to verify that the person who filled out the ballot is the actual person that the ballot belongs to, and with no guarantee that the ballot will be delivered or counted.  In fact, there is already an investigation into military mail-in ballots that were apparently opened and thrown into the garbage in Pennsylvania.  The only time a mail-in ballot should be accepted is for overseas military personnel.  All 50 states now allow some form of mail-in voting, so nobody gets a perfect score on preventing voter fraud, but some states at least have a few precautions set up. 

Unfortunately, other states not only lack rules to prevent election shenanigans, but they come up with ideas to make cheating so easy that the Houston Astros wish they had thought of it.  “Ballot harvesting” is the shady practice of allowing a third party to collect ballots and deliver them to be counted.  This has all of the negatives of mail-in voting with the added problem of having partisan people targeting which ballots to bring in.  In California this practice caused congressional districts that had always voted one way to flip.  In many of the cases the returns had one candidate ahead at the end of election night only to swing wildly to the other side the next day.  Whenever the results from election night change like that it raises major red flags as to the integrity of those votes.

It’s pretty unbelievable, but some states do not even require you to show identification when you go to vote.  That means we have no idea who is casting votes in those states.  Here in California, if I walked into a polling place and said my name is Fred Johnson, then I’m Fred Johnson.  Apparently in Pennsylvania their Secretary of State said that they would not even throw out a ballot if the signature doesn’t match.

What we need is a report card to know which states have safe enough elections to trust the outcome.  Below you will find it, with a grade based on how many precautions are set up to make sure that each vote has been properly cast by the correct, legal voter. 

State	Voting Only on Election Day	Voting In Person Only	ID Required to Verify Who Is Voting	Ballot Harvesting and Other Notable Rules	Grade
Alabama	Yes	No, but an excuse is required	Yes	Absentee ballots require witnesses and must be received before the close of polling	A
Alaska	No	No	Yes, but non-photo ID accepted	A special needs voter can have a representative return a ballot	C
Arizona	No	No	Yes, but non-photo ID accepted	Family member, household member, or caregiver can return ballots	C
Arkansas	No	No, but an excuse is required	Yes	Ballot harvesting allowed, but limit two ballots per authorized agent	B
California	No	No, and everyone receives a mailed ballot	No	Ballot harvesting allowed	F
Colorado	No	No, all mail-in election	No	Ballot harvesting allowed	F
Connecticut	Yes	No, but an excuse is required	Yes, but non-photo ID accepted	Others can return votes for disabled voters, with restrictions	B
Delaware	Yes, but early voting passed for 2022	No	ID is requested, but voters can sign an affidavit to avoid showing ID	Unspecified if ballot harvesting is allowed	D
Florida	No	No	Yes	Others can return votes for disabled voters, with restrictions	C
Georgia	No	No	Yes	Others can return votes for disabled voters, with restrictions	C
Hawaii	No	No, all mail-in election	ID is requested, but voters can recite their date of birth and address instead	Unspecified if ballot harvesting is allowed	F
Idaho	No	No	ID is requested, but voters can sign an affidavit to avoid showing ID	Unspecified if ballot harvesting is allowed	F
Illinois	No	No	No	Ballot harvesting allowed	F
Indiana	No	No, but an excuse is required, and coronavirus is not a valid excuse	Yes	Mail ballots must be received before the close of polling	B
Iowa	No	No	Yes, or another voter can vouch for their identity	Ballot harvesting allowed	D
Kansas	No	No	Yes	Ballot harvesting allowed	D
Kentucky	Yes	No, but an excuse is required	Yes	Others can return votes for disabled voter, with restrictions	A
Louisiana	No	No, but an excuse is required, and coronavirus is not a valid excuse	ID is requested, but voters can sign an affidavit to avoid showing ID	Mail ballots require a witness signature and must be received before the close of polling	B
Maine	No	No	No	Ballot harvesting allowed, but limited to five at a time	F
Maryland	No	No	No	Ballot harvesting allowed	F
Massachusetts	No	No	No	Ballots may be delivered by a family member or from a healthcare facility	F
Michigan	No	No	ID is requested, but voters can sign an affidavit to avoid showing ID	Family member or certified election assistant can deliver ballots.  Ballots must be received by 6 pm on Election Day	D
Minnesota	No	No	No	Designated agent can return up to three ballots	F
Mississippi	Yes	No, but an excuse is required	Yes	Unspecified if ballot harvesting is allowed.  Mail ballots require witnesses and must be received before the close of polling	B
Missouri	Yes	No	Yes, but non-photo is accepted	Ballots can be returned by a family member or a team of election authorities and require witness signatures	B
Montana	No	No	Yes, but non-photo is accepted	Law limited who could return ballots and only six per person, but a judge has held up the law	D
Nebraska	No	No	No	Others can return up to two ballots except for campaign workers	D
Nevada	No	No, and everyone receives a mailed ballot	No	Ballots may be returned by a family member	F
New Hampshire	Yes	No, but an excuse is required	If ID is not presented, the voter signs a challenged voter affidavit and votes a regular ballot. After the election a mailing is sent and the voter must sign and return it; if it is not returned, the voter will be investigated for voter fraud.	Family members, nursing home staff, and residential care staff can return up to four ballots which must be received before the close of polling	B
New Jersey	No	No, and everyone receives a mailed ballot	No	An authorized messenger can return up to three ballots	F
New Mexico	No	No	No	A caregiver or immediate family member can return ballots	F
New York	No	No, but an excuse is required	No	Unspecified if ballot harvesting is allowed	F
North Carolina	No	No	No, although a voter ID law was passed by voters, it was blocked by an Obama appointed judge.	Ballots require witness signature and may be returned by a near relative or legal guardian	F
North Dakota	No	No	Yes	Others can deliver up to four ballots, cannot be a candidate or be compensated	C
Ohio	No	No	Yes, but non-photo is accepted	Ballots can be returned by a family member	D
Oklahoma	No	No	Yes, but non-photo is accepted	Copy of ID, notarized ballot, or two witness signatures required	C
Oregon	No	No, all mail-in election	No	Ballot harvesting allowed	F
Pennsylvania	No	No	No	If voter becomes too sick to vote a representative, deputy sheriff or constable can deliver an emergency absentee ballot	F
Rhode Island	No	No	Yes	Unspecified if ballot harvesting is allowed	D
South Carolina	Yes	No, but an excuse is required, and coronavirus is not a valid excuse	Yes	Ballots may be returned by others except candidates or paid campaign workers and require witness signatures	A
South Dakota	No	No	ID is requested, but voters can sign an affidavit to avoid showing ID	Photo ID required for a mail ballot.  An authorized messenger may deliver ballots, but if more than one they must notify the person in charge of the election	D
Tennessee	No	No, and a judge ordered them to allow no-excuse absentee voting	Yes	Unspecified if ballot harvesting is allowed	D
Texas	No	No, but an excuse is required	Photo ID requested. Voters who do not possess an acceptable form of photo ID and cannot obtain one, may present a supporting form of ID and execute a Reasonable Impediment Declaration	Photo ID required for a mail ballot.  A household member, relative or person lawfully assisting a voter who is disabled or cannot read the ballot may return the mail ballot	C
Utah	No	No, all mail-in election	No	Unspecified if ballot harvesting is allowed	F
Vermont	No	No, and everyone receives a mailed ballot	No	Unspecified if ballot harvesting is allowed	F
Virginia	No	No	Yes, but non-photo accepted	Witness signature required for mail ballots.  A designated representative can return ballot for a voter who is incapacitated or hospitalized	C
Washington	No	No, all mail-in election	No	Unspecified if ballot harvesting is allowed	F
West Virginia	No	No, but an excuse is required	Yes, or be identified by a poll worker	Anyone can return up to two ballots	B
Wisconsin	No	No	Yes	Unspecified if ballot harvesting is allowed. Photo ID required for a mail ballot and witness signature required	C
Wyoming	No	No	No	Unspecified if ballot harvesting is allowed	F