Pete Olson, the Congressman from the 22nd District in Texas, pens an opinion piece on H.R. 1280 which increases the penalties of election fraud crimes and addresses the handling of official election materials by the postal service.

Every vote is sacred. Throughout history, people have sacrificed
their lives to make sure that their voices count when determining who
will govern them. Congress has a duty to monitor and ensure the
integrity of the federal electoral process throughout the country. To
better address voter fraud, I introduced the Voter Fraud Prevention Act,
H.R.1280, a bill that stiffens the penalties for individuals convicted
of voter fraud or tampering with official election materials, such as
voter registration cards and absentee ballots. The bill increases the
jail sentence from 5 years to 10 years, and anyone convicted of either
of these offenses would permanently lose their right to vote in federal
elections.

My legislation also specifically addresses the
handling of official election materials by the US Postal Service, the
issue highlighted by the loss of the 22,000 voter registration cards in
Fort Bend County. It directs election officials to employ the existing
tracking system available to the US Postal Service for ballots and all
official election materials. Using this tool will better ensure that
election officials can track voter registration cards and absentee
ballots, and the likelihood of election materials being lost or stolen
will be greatly reduced.

Regardless of anyone’s personal political views, we can all agree that
the integrity of our democracy is critically important. As the world’s
oldest democracy, we must lead by example in ensuring every citizen’s
right to cast their vote is protected.