Commonsense reforms can improve the integrity of the voter registration, voting, and ballot counting processes. Of course, these reforms will not stop all forms of fraud or prevent all errors and mistakes, but when implemented and rigorously enforced, they can be a powerful weapon that can be used to fix potential problems before they occur and deter and prevent many types of election fraud—and they do not prevent or discourage eligible citizens from voting. 

Preventing errors and fraud in the first place is much easier than trying to detect and correct problems and to investigate and prosecute fraudsters after an election. Without proper procedures in place, detecting errors and fraud is an extremely difficult undertaking. Moreover, prosecutors faced with burgeoning caseloads often fail to prioritize prosecuting election fraud, and partisan considerations may lead some to ignore potentially meritorious cases. 

To help states that want to enhance the security of their elections and to hold those that do not accountable, The Heritage Foundation created the Election Integrity Scorecard. This online tool compares the election laws and regulations of every state and the District of Columbia that affect the security and integrity of the voting and election process to the Foundation’s 50 best-practices recommendations, which include:

Photographic, Government-issued Identification to Vote 

Photo IDs should be required for both in-person voting and absentee balloting. With absentee ballots, voters should be required to provide either a photocopy of the ID when they mail in the absentee ballot or the ID number of their state-issued driver’s license or photo ID card. For the small percentage of individuals who do not already have an ID, states should issue free ID cards for voting.

Proof of Citizenship to Register to Vote 

Anyone registering to vote should be required to provide proof of U.S. citizenship such as a birth certificate, naturalization papers, or other documents including those that the federal government requires all employers to check before hiring a new employee.

Jury Forms and Government Databases 

All courts should be required to notify election officials when individuals who are summoned for jury duty from voter rolls are excused because they are non-citizens, have moved, or are ineligible felons.

Accuracy Checks of Voter Registration Information 

All states should verify the accuracy of their voter registration information by comparing it with other information databases such as those maintained by Departments of Motor Vehicles; public assistance agencies; the Social Security Administration; the Department of Homeland Security; and other federal, state, and county agencies.