The democratic process is defined by the right to vote in a free and fair election with confidence that every vote will count. Many Republican politicians say voting is not a right but a privilege, and they have used the offices of government to erect barriers to voting and reward cronies and contributors. The public trust has been violated by abuse and corruption, and Texas Democrats support changes to restore faith in our government and the integrity of elections.
Free and Fair Elections Voters Can Trust
To ensure the right of voters to cast their ballots in a system that is free from intimidation, discrimination, or abuse by partisans or state and local officials, we support:
- vigorous Justice Department enforcement of the federal Voting Rights Act;
- passage of a State Voting Rights Act;
- the removal election officials who use their office to engage in unlawful partisan activities to impact the outcome of elections;
- a system of election administration that keeps elections officials accountable to the voters;
- better access to accurate voting system instructions to ensure no one is denied the right to vote due to language barriers, disability or voting systems;
- a Constitutional prohibition against mid-decade redistricting unless a court order determines that a redistricting plan violates legal or constitutional standards;
- redistricting standards and practices that demand compliance with the Voting Rights Act, discourage savaging regions and communities for partisan gain, and preserve the constituent-representative relationship to the extent possible to give voters the right to elect their representatives instead of letting representatives pick their voters;
- securing the integrity and outcome of election results by requiring that electronic voting systems provide a durable paper printout to allow votes to be verified, counted accurately, certified, and recounted, including a requirement that a voter verifiable paper ballot serve as the official ballot in recounts;
- opening the certification and selection process for voting systems to public review, testing and analysis;
- implementing rigorous oversight by a non-partisan commission consisting of qualified computer experts and programmers to perform logic and accuracy tests prior to deploying machines for elections, including practices and audit procedures such as parallel testing and risk-based audits with county access to all proprietary and/or open source codes;
- a chain of custody for all voting and tabulating machines, with security protocols for transport to the polling place and returning cast ballots to the counting station; and
- a requirement that the State Party Chairs be allowed to obtain “read and write” access permission to all Texas Election Administration Management (TEAM) database tables and fields with complete documentation, and appoint two liaison persons to attend all meetings called by the Secretary of State on TEAM matters and report findings on data security to the State Chair.
Encourage Voter Participation and Elimination of Voter Suppression
Although Texas consistently has one of the lowest voter participation rates among the 50 states, Republican politicians have used public office to suppress the vote and further restrict participation instead of working to increase it. Texas Democrats support:
- the principled and courageous efforts of Democratic legislators to defeat restrictive voter ID and proof of citizenship legislation that is not warranted by any evidence of voter impersonation at the polls and would serve only to reduce turnout among the elderly, poor, and people of color;
- expansion of the types of legal identification that can be used to verify residence when a voter does not have a voter registration card at the polling place;
- stronger penalties and stricter enforcement to prevent vote suppression;
- enhanced state funding and requirements for voter registration efforts by counties;
- prohibition of vote caging and full disclosure of county and state processes for purging voter rolls as well as publishing of lists of those purged;
- verifiable same day voter registration;
- a requirement that provisional ballots be counted unless a voters’ residence is proven invalid;
- requiring presidential electors to cast votes consistent with the popular vote;
- removing restrictions on mail-in voter registration and mail ballot assistance that do nothing to prevent fraud;
- a mail ballot system open to all voters, with a permanent mail ballot option;
- funding for mandatory publication of all early vote and election day polling place locations and immediate publication of changes in those locations or voting hours; and
- responsible expansion of the vote center pilot program without closing existing precincts.
Restoring Trust and Ethical Government
To ensure that our campaigns are financed legally, fairly, and transparently, and an open and accountable government that honors the public’s right to know, we support:
- stronger reporting laws to require the fair market value of gifts to public officials to be listed to provide public access to information about possible conflicts of interest and prevent those who seek favor from public officials from hiding conflicts of interest;
- full and timely disclosure of campaign contributions, expenditures, lobbying and other activities that can influence elections and government operations;
- a ban on corporate campaign contributions and, to the extent possible under the Supreme Court’s “Citizen’s United” decision, strict reporting requirements and regulation of corporate political advertising;
- prohibiting former legislators and state agency executives from going through a “revolving door” to lobby former colleagues or previous employers for a specified length of time after leaving their office or position;
- enhanced funding and enforcement tools for the Texas Ethics Commission;
- requiring the Texas Legislature to record all votes and not just votes for final passage, comply with open meetings laws, and provide real-time internet access to voting records and amendments to provide public accountability;
- adoption of state government policy to allow the public to use the internet to track state expenditures and activities, similar to federal transparency requirements authored by then Senator Obama;
- requiring state agencies to follow strict contracting guidelines to eliminate favoritism and “sweetheart” deals in awarding state contracts and to document any meetings or contacts with registered lobbyists or paid consultants regarding a state contracts;
- continuing to elect judges while working toward a more diverse judiciary and meaningful judicial campaign finance reform;
- public financing for general election campaigns for elective office at all levels, beginning with state judicial elections; and
- strict enforcement of the prohibition forbidding the use of state tax money to pay contract lobbyists to lobby members of our congressional delegation.