Senator Rick Scott has introduced legislation establishing federal rules for counting votes, which would require all mail-in ballots to be tallied within 24 hours of Election Day.
The bill is an amendment to the Help America Vote Act of 2002.
Known as the Verifiable, Orderly, & Timely Election Results (VOTER) Act, it would require precincts to report the total number of in-person and mail-in ballots they have received one hour after polls close.
Federal standards, the legislation reads, would “ensure a secure, uniform, and timely system to cast a mail-in ballot.”
It also states, “All ballots validly cast in an election for Federal office shall be counted and reported within 24 hours after the conclusion of voting on the date of the election.”
Voting is fundamental to our democracy and it is a sacred right that we must protect and cherish.
My VOTER Act will create uniform standards for voting-by-mail, provide protections against fraud, & make sure we have timely federal election results. https://t.co/3IQALQCJ8Z
— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) September 24, 2020
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Rick Scott Wants to Limit Fraud Through Mail-In Ballots
Scott’s legislation appears to be designed to prevent states from enacting random and arbitrary deadlines that would allow mail-in ballots to trickle in well after Election Day.
Earlier this month, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that mail-in ballots can be counted up to three days after the election.
Lawyers for top Republicans in the Pennsylvania state Senate have requested that the Supreme Court step in to overturn the ruling.
Nine military mail-in ballots — ALL cast for President @realDonaldTrump — were found discarded in Pennsylvania! DOJ confirms. ⬇️ https://t.co/ou9wZG5lYz pic.twitter.com/ZP0xCcg8Xl
— Kayleigh McEnany (@PressSec) September 24, 2020
“The standards for mail-in voting vary widely across the country, causing confusion and a distrust in the system,” Senator Scott said in a statement.
“We need standards nationwide to ensure voters decide the outcomes of elections – not the courts,” he added. “We can’t wait weeks or months to find out the results of this election or any election in our future.”
Scott accused Democrats of pushing mail-in voting and changing election laws as a means to “eliminate standards that protect against fraud.”
President @realDonaldTrump on universal mail-in ballots: There is no justification for the extreme changes the Democrats are making to election law pic.twitter.com/ftCCoQIC80
— Team Trump (Text VOTE to 88022) (@TeamTrump) September 27, 2020
RELATED: PA Supreme Court Rules Mail-In Ballots May Be Counted Three Days After Election
Ballot Counting Extension Halted in Wisconsin
In Wisconsin, another key swing state in which Democrats and their allies attempted to extend the deadline to count votes, Republicans have received a bit of good news.
On Sunday, a federal appeals court temporarily halted an extension of six days for counting absentee ballots.
An order allowing Wisconsin election officials to accept mail-in ballots for six days after Election Day, was put on hold by an appeals court https://t.co/Rx47M7DeWv
— Bloomberg (@business) September 28, 2020
President Trump has complained numerous times about mail-in voting.
“The Ballots being returned to States cannot be accurately counted,” he tweeted Monday. “Many things are already going very wrong!”
A Democratic data and analytics firm has been claiming that it might seem like Trump will win re-election on November 3rd.
But, they suggest, ballots received afterward could mean he “ultimately lose when all the votes are counted.”
Hillary Clinton has warned Democrat nominee Joe Biden not to concede the election “under any circumstances.”
