A law professor and author is clearing the air around voting ahead of the big general election in the fall.
Kim Waylee wrote “What You Need to Know About Voting and Why” to help people understand our nation’s election system.
Waylee says one of the biggest misconceptions is that because of COVID-19, people think they can wait to register. She says there's also a lot of misinformation around voter fraud.
“To suggest that there's, you know, there's somehow intrinsic, core problematic issues with fraud is just wrong,” said Waylee. “Plus, we have five states that vote almost exclusively by mail already and there, we haven't seen problems with that. We know how to do this, if there's sufficient funding.”
Waylee says funding is a big hurdle for states that are strapped for cash because of the pandemic.
More resources could help address issues with voter suppression in areas that have historically not had access.
“And that is going to come from federal dollars being put into the system in a way that benefits all Americans,” said Waylee. “Because it's really ‘we the people,’ not we the Republicans and we the Democrats. It's ‘we the people,’ and that requires a robust, functioning, smoothly implemented electoral process.”
The Brennan Center for Justice has estimated that we need $4 billion to run a good election in November. So far, Congress has allocated $400 million as part of COVID-19 relief legislation.
