Months before the general election, a bipartisan group of lawmakers — including Third District Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania — have introduced legislation that they say would address “key principles” in election reform and integrity.
If passed, the Let America Vote Act of 2024 would:
• Require states to permit access to unaffiliated voters to vote in primary elections for federal office
• Withhold federal funds if a state does not permit access to unaffiliated voters to vote in primary elections for state and local office
• Provide additional funds for states to transition to access to primary elections for unaffiliated voters
• Restrict the use of voter data for nonaffiliated voters
• Prohibit states from permitting non-citizens to vote in elections for federal office
• Withhold federal funds if a state permits non-citizens to vote in elections for state and local office
“In Southwest Washington, we value our independence, know that our beliefs don’t always fit neatly into one box, and recognize there’s not a national political party that cares about our community like we do. Good ideas come from both sides of the aisle, so Americans shouldn’t be denied the right to vote for the candidate of their choosing because they aren’t affiliated with a political party,” Gluesenkamp Perez said in a statement. “Additionally, a healthy democracy depends on free, fair, and secure elections. We need to uphold the constitutional ideal that decisions made for our country are made by citizens of our country — and this bipartisan legislation will protect the integrity of Americans’ choices at the ballot box.”
In addition to Gluesenkamp Perez, the legislation is sponsored by Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pennsylvania, Jared Golden, D-Maine, and Andrew Garbarino, R-New York.
“The Let America Vote Act would bring the single greatest expansion of voting rights in our country in over a half-century since the voting age was lowered in 1971,” Nick Troiano, executive director of Unite America, said in a statement. “Political independents now comprise 51% of the electorate — including a majority of veterans who have defended our freedoms; yet 24 million of these unaffiliated Americans have been denied the right to vote in taxpayer-funded primaries in close to two dozen states this year alone. By opening our primaries nationwide, this Act would end taxation without representation once and for all, and ensure every voter, regardless of party, can fully exercise their right to vote.”
