Letter responding to Seattle Times’ article by Julie Wise’s piece “Trump’s election commission long on rhetoric, short on integrity”

“Egregious” and “ridiculous” is how Julie Wise, the King County Elections Director, described my testimony to the President’s Advisory Commission on Election Integrity.  (“Trump’s election commission long on rhetoric, short on integrity,” September 17).  She claims that background checks on voters would accomplish nothing other than creating a “barrier to voting.”  

But just last fall, Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman pointed out, “Under current state law, as election administrators, we are not able to confirm the citizenship of any registered voter.”  Only a few states make even a partial attempt to confirm citizenship.  And states that restrict voting by felons don’t check to see whether voters committed out-of-state felonies.

Democrats such as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (NY) boast that the checks on gun purchases are done “without in any way abridging rights.”  Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Hillary Clinton have made similar claims.  But those checks have hefty fees, so free voter checks are far less onerous by comparison.  Free background checks on citizenship or felony records only create a “barrier to voting” for felons and non-citizens. 

Wise argues that fear of voter fraud is devastating to public confidence.  But if voter fraud isn’t really a problem, why not use simple background checks to restore faith in elections?  Unfortunately, Washington State has already had its share of questionable, close elections.

Sincerely,