(Jan. 9, official editorial of the Washington Examiner):
Amid shameful behavior by President Trump and his supporters in trying to subvert duly certified election results and intimidate lawmakers in protest of phantom claims of fraud, South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott has the far more constructive approach.
Scott is introducing legislation to create a bipartisan, 18-member “Election Integrity Commission” to “study the merits and administration of the November 2020 election and make recommendations to State legislatures to improve the security, integrity, and administration of federal elections.” Crucially, this commission would operate apart from the current dispute about the recently concluded presidential race. It would thus be free of immediate political pressures and outlandish demands to overturn election results.
This proposal is thus completely unlike that of Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, which would have created a 10-day commission in hopes of delaying or blocking Joe Biden’s timely inauguration. Instead, Scott’s plan would provide time and a broader, more legitimate mandate for a commission that looks forward productively.
Specifically, the commission would consist of nine members appointed by Republican congressional leaders and nine appointed by Democratic counterparts. They would do comprehensive assessments of the effects of COVID-19 on the election and the electoral measures adopted in response, specifically including the efficacy or problems caused by the more widespread use of mail-in and early voting, and “practices that would have allowed improper or fraudulent voter registration or votes.”
cott would require the commission to submit two reports, one with precinct-level reports of any voter fraud or improprieties and another recommending “best practices that each level of local and state government should adopt” to ensure honest, fair elections and to deal with elections during national emergencies.
This is thoughtful, constructive, and potentially even statesmanlike….
[For the rest of this column, please follow this link.]
