Four Core Measures Will Balance Integrity and Access

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – June 19, 2020: A task force of election integrity attorneys, researchers, and experienced election experts published Standards for Voting by Mail today. The Standards are intended to equip policymakers and election officials with specific standards and protocols for best practices to protect the integrity of the 2020 General Election, with the increasing demands for voting by mail. 

“The nation is under-prepared for the 2020 Election if mail ballot demand expectations are accurate,” PILF President and General Counsel J. Christian Adams said. “Authorities must withstand outside efforts to weaken mail ballot voter protections while using existing powers to safely meet demand. This report and attached best practices seek to inform and prepare officials for an election where mail voting is being demanded through both administrative edict and litigation.”

FOUR KEY PRINCIPLES FOR MAIL VOTING   – No Automatic Mailing of Ballots – Safeguard Return of Ballots – Counting Must Be Secure, Transparent & Expeditious – Preserve In-Person Voting

Task Force Founders and Members

Members of the task force are acting in their individual capacities and not on behalf of the organizations where they work; the titles are for identification purposes only.

Mr. J. Christian Adams, Esq., President & General Counsel, Public Interest Legal Foundation

Mr. Robert Alt, President & CEO, The Buckeye Institute

Mr. Charles H. Bell, Jr., Esq., Senior Partner, Bell, McAndrews & Hiltachk, LLP

The Honorable J. Kenneth Blackwell, Ohio Secretary of State (1999-2007)

The Honorable Shawnna LM Bolick, Member of Arizona House of Representatives

Mr. Francisco R. Canseco, Esq., Director, Election Integrity Project, Texas Public Policy Foundation

Mr. William Davis, Esq., Partner, Foley & Lardner, LLP

The Hon. Chuck DeVore, Vice President of National Initiatives, Texas Public Policy

Dr. John C. Eastman, Esq., Director, The Claremont Institute’s Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence

Mr. John Fund, National-Affairs Journalist and Author

Mr. Scott Gessler, Esq., Former Colorado Secretary of State

Mr. Richard P. (Pete) Hutchison, Esq., President, Landmark Legal Foundation

The Honorable Mark Koran, State Senator for Minnesota

Mr. Christopher M. Marston, Partner, Dunlap, Bennett & Ludwig

The Honorable John H. Merrill, Alabama Secretary of State

Ms. Cleta Mitchell, Esq., Partner, Foley & Lardner, LLP, Chairman, Public Interest Legal Foundation

Mr. David A. Norcross, Esq., Former Chairman of Republican National Lawyers Association, and General Counsel Republican National Committee

Ms. Linda Paine, President & Co-Founder, Election Integrity Project California

Mr. Hans von Spakovsky, Esq., Manager, Election Law Reform Initiative and Senior Fellow, The Heritage Foundation

Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) is a 501(c)(3) public interest law firm dedicated to election integrity. The Foundation exists to assist states and others to aid the cause of election integrity and fight against lawlessness in American elections. Drawing on numerous experts in the field, PILF seeks to protect the right to vote and preserve the Constitutional framework of American elections.

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