How Refreshing: New York City DA Calls for Election Integrity Measures, Including Voter ID
Democratic District Attorney Michael McMahon endorsed a litany of election law changes after investigating widespread voter fraud in 2021 election
Last week, New York City Democratic District Attorney Michael McMahon endorsed proposed election law changes in a blistering grand jury report. The report came after a lengthy investigation into widespread 2021 absentee ballot fraud, including allegations that campaign operatives forged voter signatures and submitted ballots from dead people.
The report called for a litany of election law changes, including:
Mandating local boards of elections employ signature verification experts to review absentee ballot signatures;
Requiring signatures on absentee ballots to match signatures on corresponding voter registration forms;
Requiring government-issued ID to vote.
Why? To prevent future fraud and protect confidence in election results – both compelling interests.
The Democratic district attorney said, “This is surely not the only contest where efforts to illegally impact the outcome through ballot malfeasance have taken place. It is our sincere hope that through the release of this report and advocacy to policymakers and lawmakers, New York’s election system will be strengthened and secured to the level necessary to inspire total confidence in election outcomes.”
If McMahon were in North Carolina and registered in a different political party, he’d be tarred a vote suppressor.
North Carolina lawmakers have proposed modest changes to election laws that don’t go nearly as far as the reforms endorsed by a Democratic New York City district attorney.
The importance of voter confidence in election results is real. There is a reasonable center to this discussion. Not all election integrity measures are radical, and there is a balance to be struck between ease of voting and confidence in election results.
Mainstream proposals to boost that confidence, in New York City or North Carolina or anywhere else, should be debated on the merits, not debased by tired accusations of sinister motives.
