op-ed: Protect huntington beach election integrity
The below is an excerpt of an op-ed by Republican candidate for Congress Max Ukropina that appeared in the Orange County Register on Thursday, August 10th. Read the entire op-ed at OCRegister.com here.
Last week, the Huntington Beach city council unveiled new proposals to boost confidence in the city’s elections by requiring identification for in-person voting, expanding the number of in-person polling sites, and monitoring ballot drop-off boxes with security cameras for potential fraud. These initiatives were announced only as first drafts to be analyzed by the city and eventually put on the ballot in next year’s primary elections, but they are a commonsense starting point and entirely reasonable.
As a candidate running to represent Huntington Beach and the 47th District in Congress, I strongly support the city’s efforts to ensure that every legal vote can be cast, give voters faith that their vote was fairly counted, and safeguard against potential for fraud...
But Huntington Beach is getting bullied – yet again – by Sacramento, this time by its own representative in the legislature and one of my opponents in the race for the 47th District, Democrat state Sen. Dave Min. In a letter sent to the city council last week (and threateningly forwarded to California’s Attorney General), Min questioned the legality of the city’s actions and warned that the proposals would have a “chilling effect” and “greatly impede the rights of voters in Huntington Beach.”
Why is Min relying on false talking points to thwart Huntington Beach’s actions?
The argument that requiring an ID to vote and expanding the number of polling sites would have a “chilling effect” on voting is ludicrous. The overwhelming majority of voters – including a majority of Democrats – support voter ID laws. Dozens of states already require some form of ID to vote, and there is no evidence that such laws lead to reduced turnout. Meanwhile, monitoring ballot drop boxes with security cameras, if done correctly, can boost the community’s confidence that boxes haven’t been tampered with while still providing voters with accessible options to drop off their ballot...
Protecting the integrity of our elections isn’t about restricting voting. It’s about ensuring everyone has faith in the system and that every legal ballot gets cast and counted. Dave Min may not want to take action to secure our elections, but he shouldn’t try to stop Huntington Beach from doing what it can in its own jurisdiction. The way we run our elections has changed dramatically in the past few years. What’s wrong with boosting confidence in the integrity of the process?