Election integrity with free and fair elections are important issues to the Hispanic community. Many Hispanics flee from Latin American countries that are known for rampant corruption, pay for vote schemes, voter intimidation and manipulation of votes cast, and come to the U.S. for a better life.
The need for Voter ID, removing deceased voters from voter rolls and connecting state voter databases with opting out of jury selection due to “lack of citizenship” are a few steps we can take to ensure elections are fair and results are accurate. Voter ID is required in Latin American countries. By not requiring a Voter ID, this opens the door to election fraud and a possible decline in our democracy. A trend that is moving around the globe is a decline in democracy. This decline in free countries starts with voter control, vote manipulation and control of the judicial branches of government.
https://www.transparency.org/en/news/political-integrity-lacking-in-latin-america-and-the-caribbean-especially-a
Dictatorships found in Venezuela and Nicaragua that publicly state they have a “democratic” voting process, manipulate the results via corrupt employees and seizing judicial branches of government to accomplish their goals of staying in power.
In 2021, President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela took control over the last remaining democratic institutions in his country through legislative elections rejected by the international community as illegitimate. Maduro’s authoritarianism is responsible for the country’s descent into economic collapse. The regime-backed National Assembly is considering 33 bills to consolidate Maduro’s power by further curtailing freedom of expression (free speech) and restricting international cooperation. The regime repealed a law which required gubernatorial and municipal elections to be held on separate dates before the end of the year. This would allow the regime to hold a super-election in 23 states and 335 municipalities, further consolidating power at the local level.
Nicaragua represents another “democracy deficit” in the region. In late 2020, Daniel Ortega’s regime approved a set of draconian laws that undermine fundamental freedoms and further erode the country’s rule of law. In October 2020, the “OAS” adopted a resolution calling on Nicaragua’s government to “fully respect the constitutional order, human rights, and fundamental freedoms, and hold free and fair elections,” planned for November 7, 2021. Democratic opposition political and civic groups seek to unify and contest the elections, representing the best chance for Nicaraguans to regain their freedoms and democracy.
https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2021/democracy-under-siege
These examples provide insight into where NC and the U.S may be headed. By implementing trusted systems to verify that only U.S. citizens are casting votes and those votes are counted accurately and counted once are a few steps to ensure confidence in our elections. These steps help to build trust in the Hispanic community that our elections and the results are accurate. And finally, that we are not moving towards a Venezuelan or Nicaraguan form of government and a deterioration of our democracy.