Election Integrity Network

“Vote early. Vote often.”

The phrase didn't originate in Chicago—but the city's colorful election history helped make it famous.

Chicago's political-machine era became notorious for allegations and documented cases involving repeat voting, false registrations, voter impersonation and ballots cast using the registrations of people who were dead or had moved away.

By 1987, a federal appeals court was still describing Chicago voter registrations tied to “tombstones, vacant lots, and people who have moved out of the city.”

Dead voters. Ghost registrations. Repeat voting.

Chicago election lore didn't come from nowhere.
And it isn't limited to just Chicago.

Several states give no-excuse absentee access based on age—even when the voter is not disabled.

Among the 13 excuse-required states, age is itself an absentee qualification in:

Indiana — age 65 or older

Kentucky — inability to appear on account of age, disability or illness

Louisiana — age 65 or older

Mississippi — age 65 or older

South Carolina — age 65 or older

Tennessee — age 60 or older

Texas — age 65 or older

West Virginia — “advanced age,” without a numeric threshold in the NCSL summary

Age and disability are not interchangeable.

That distinction is now at the center of a constitutional fight. In August 2026, a federal appeals court ruled South Carolina’s age-based absentee rule unconstitutional.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndtx/pr/federal-prosecutors-crack-down-illegal-voting-seven-non-citizens-charged-sweeping

👏 We applaud this!👏

"If you're illegal and attempted to vote, or you tried to vote illegally for someone else, we will find you, and we will charge you," Mullin continued. "Illegal voter restoration and illegal voting both carry penalties up to five years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines. We will pursue maximum pressure on this."

The secretary said election officials would be held "accountable" if they don't comply and that the penalties would be extended to them.

"If the election officials, once we gave them the information they need to secure their elections, and they chose not to, then those individuals can also be held accountable by fines, by penalties, and even depending on how far it goes, prison time," he said.

Mullin threatens to withhold aid from states that don’t comply with DHS election directives DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin threatened to strip states of federal election-related aid if they don't comply with the administration's voting roll probe.

Texas has some competitive congressional districts, but a close election is no excuse to prey on a vulnerable voter.

Across TX-28, TX-34, and TX-35, there are approximately 170 residential care and nursing facilities with potentially 14,500 potential ballots.

Residents who want to vote deserve the chance to do so. Residents who decline deserve the same respect. Neither choice should be shaped by pressure, coercion, or unauthorized ballot activity.

New guidance from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reinforces those protections.

Families and citizens can help locally: ask facilities how they protect residents’ privacy, consent, and independent choices.

Download the Protecting Vulnerable Voters’ Toolkit and start the conversation in your community:
https://www.electionintegritynetwork.org/campaigns/protecting-vulnerable-voters

Protect the person. Protect their choice.

Georgia has required photo ID for in-person voting since 2007. The requirement does not disenfranchise voters. Those without acceptable ID may vote provisionally and present identification afterward. Georgia also provides free voter ID cards.

Overall turnout increased after implementation.

Every state should:

Verify the person.
Verify the eligibility.
Protect the vote.

Who Can Obtain a REAL ID?

REAL ID is not limited to American citizens.

Depending on their status and documentation, REAL IDs may be issued to:

U.S. citizens and nationals
Lawful permanent residents
Refugees and people granted asylum
Certain lawful temporary residents
Certain other noncitizens with federally recognized lawful status

Some temporary-status applicants receive a REAL ID with a limited expiration period.

The star means the applicant satisfied REAL ID requirements. It does not answer the separate question: Is this person a U.S. citizen?

Today, we celebrate the document that begins with three powerful words:
“We the People.”

Our Constitution rests on a timeless principle: government receives its authority from the consent of the governed.

That consent is expressed through elections the American people can trust—elections that are lawful, transparent, secure and accountable to the citizens they serve.

This Constitution Day, we recommit ourselves to protecting both our founding charter and the self-government it guarantees.

These are our elections. This is our Constitution. We the People must defend both.

It matters who registers. It matters who votes.
Only eligible U.S. Citizens should be registered and casting votes in American elections

Chapter 9 focuses on voter eligibility and the safeguards(or lack of safeguards) used to determine whether the person casting a ballot is actually qualified to vote.

Debates over election integrity often become focused on increasing participation while giving too little attention to verifying eligibility and identity. What is the opposition to voter-identification requirements and other verification measures?
Why does the left portray basic safeguards as barriers to voting?

Concerns include voter ID, inaccurate registration records, verification of voter information, enforcement of eligibility requirements, and the tension between expanding access and maintaining controls against ineligible voting.

Convenience and access are not a substitute for integrity.

Eligible citizens should be able to vote, while election systems should also be capable of determining that the person voting is who they claim to be and is legally eligible to cast that ballot.

Who is the voter? Are they eligible? Have they already voted?

The voters most likely to need absentee voting may also be the easiest to exploit.

Documented cases have involved absentee applications or ballots connected to nursing-home residents, people under guardianship and voters dependent on others for care.

The danger is not simply that a ballot might be stolen.

A dependent voter may be registered without meaningful consent, pressured to vote, “assisted” by someone with a political preference, or have a ballot requested and handled by someone else.

The United States Department of Justice’s election-crimes guidance specifically identifies absentee-ballot fraud and voter-assistance fraud—including cases in which a voter’s wishes are ignored or never sought.

Access and protection must work together. A voter has the right to vote—and the equal right to decline, choose privately and receive neutral assistance.

Download the Protecting Vulnerable Voters Toolkit and get involved in your community:https://www.electionintegritynetwork.org/campaigns/protecting-vulnerable-voters