GUS ON THE ISSUES
Ensuring Election Integrity
The Situation: There is nothing more important than the integrity of our election process. It is vital to the strength of our democracy. We’ve seen attempts by hostile countries to interfere with our elections and liberals trying to rig the system in order to cling to power. Now, more than ever, we must safeguard the sanctity of our elections.
What Has Bilirakis Done:
- Gus Bilirakis takes allegations of misconduct seriously and has fought to ensure all claims are fully investigated. He supports the rule of law and making sure that all legal votes are counted.
- Gus Bilirakis does not support any efforts to impose a federally mandated process, as Democrats have proposed with HR 1. He has voted against this and similar proposals on several occasions. He believes a federal take-over would be a violation of the U.S. Constitution. The Elections Clause of the U.S. Constitution provides that the States are the principal authority as it relates to holding elections within their jurisdiction
- Gus Bilirakis also opposes expansion of mail-in ballot voting that would enable ballots to be mailed to those who have not requested them. He sort of system increase the likelihood of fraudulent ballots. but I believe this sort of federally mandated policy to be in violation of the Constitution.
- Many states, including the State of Florida, have already established laws and procedures that deal with mail-in or absentee voting. These ballots are intended for people who are physically unable to vote in person, whether they are out of the state at the time the election is to be held or because a disability is preventing them from doing so. Any changes to these laws should be decided by the state legislature, and changes made by other entities are likely to be deemed invalid. This was the case when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a decision made by a trial court in Wisconsin, which would have allowed for absentee ballots received after the date of the State’s primary to still be considered valid.
- Gus Bilirakis has supported increased funding for states to help them implement safeguards to protect election integrity.
- Gus Bilirakis has served on a national task force to review the election laws of each state and to recommend best practices.