With more states passing strict voter ID laws making it more difficult for certain communities to vote. And the fight to keep America’s democratic processes alive has been a concern for many.
To address this age of voting-vulnerability, presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren outlined her new plan to strengthen the country’s democracy and make voting easier.
“Our democracy shouldn’t be about keeping people out – it should strive to bring everyone to the polls,” Warren wrote.
Purging voter names, limited same-day registration and closing polling places in communities of color are a few examples of voter suppression that Warren cited. She also pointed to the 2016 election and the Russian infiltration scandal, as a reason to make our voting process as “secure as Fort Knox,” she wrote.
According to Warren’s article, she will make sure federal elections get state-of-the-art voting machines, federal ballots and federal security. If elected, her goal will be to replace every single voting machine with uniform federal machines with federal-level security, that the government will be responsible for paying for.
In addition to machines, she will mandate automatic and same-day registration, early voting and vote by mail to make voting easier.
“My plan will mean no more arbitrary voter purges. No more registration issues. And no more gerrymandering,” Warren wrote. “We will also make Election Day a holiday to make it easier for people to get to the polls.”
The plan outlines that state and local governments who comply to federal standards will have the opportunity to have entire elections funded by the federal government.
Warren warns that her administration would take over any state government that is using racist or corrupt tactics to conduct an election.
“I’m proposing a federal-state partnership so that states will have a strong financial incentive to follow these rules in their state and local elections as well — and to maximize voter turnout,” she wrote.
Warren estimates that this new plan will cost about $20 billion over ten years. However, she notes that the entire initiative can be paid for with her proposed Ultra Millionaire Tax.
The Ultra Millionaire Tax would put a 2% annual tax on households worth between $50 million and $1 billion. There would also be a 1% annual Billionaire Surtax (3% tax in total) on households with a net worth above $1 billion, according to Warren’s campaign site.
Warren’s cites a laudable goal of the proposed tax raising nearly $2.75 trillion in revenue over 10 years.
“We have a solemn obligation to secure our elections from those who would try to undermine them,” Warren wrote. “That’s why the Constitution gives Congress the tools to regulate the administration of federal elections. It’s time to pick up those tools and use them.”
