My bipartisan bill to require mail-in ballots be trackable.

Right now, it’s easier to track every move your pizza delivery driver makes than it is to track some mail-in ballots.

Katie Porter

Dec 16

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With the 2024 general election less than a year away, let’s talk about voting and election security.

Right now, it’s easier to track every move your pizza delivery driver makes than it is to track some mail-in ballots.

We should all want to make sure our votes are counted, which is why I have a bipartisan bill to require mail-in ballots be trackable.

The United States Postal Service has already created a tracking barcode system for ballots traveling by mail. But not all states are using ballots that meet these design standards which allow for accurate tracking. As of last year’s election, about half of states (including California) offered tracking. That’s a great start, but that still left millions of Americans wondering if their ballot made it on time. My bill would make sure every voter can know their ballot was counted.

We also need to address foreign influence in our elections. Currently, loopholes in federal election law allow foreign governments and corporations to funnel massive amounts of money into swaying state and local ballot measures.

Some state and local governments have taken this issue into their own hands and banned this type of money, but we need these protections at the federal level.

That’s why I’ve been working on this issue since I got to Congress. My proposal to ban foreign money has bipartisan support because we can all agree that foreign governments shouldn’t be able to influence American issues and laws.

And finally, we need to secure access to the ballot box for all Americans and curb the influence of big corporations. We have to end gerrymandering that stifles the voices of whole communities and increases partisanship. We should ban corporate PAC money and prevent dark money from flooding our elections.

These are doable ideas. We just need to elect leaders willing to shake up the status quo and fight for our democracy.

In that spirit, make sure you are registered to vote, and consider chipping in a few bucks to my campaign for the U.S. Senate. I’ve never taken a dime from corporate PACs, so you can always know I’ll fight for real people.

–Katie