Wyden Praises Election Security, Access, Vote By Mail Provisions of For the People Act

Press Release

U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today praised key updates to the For the People Act, by Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., which incorporates strong new election security and access provisions that Wyden co-authored:

"By ensuring every voter would have the choice to vote at home, and adopting other commonsense reforms, the For the People Act would represent the greatest advance in voting rights in a generation and a strike back against the growing tide of voter suppression in Republican-controlled states. I applaud Sens. Merkley and Klobuchar for incorporating important election security provisions from the SAFE Act in their legislation. As the co-author of these provisions, I'm confident this bill would make elections more secure, more accessible and give voters even more confidence in the integrity of American democracy."

The For the People Act includes major provisions from Wyden's Vote at Home Act, to ensure every voter has the choice to vote by mail or drop box, along with Oregon-style automatic voter registration. It includes key provisions from the Klobuchar-Wyden SAFE Act, and the Wyden Natural Disaster and Emergency Ballot Act of 2020, including:

New requirements for post-election audits, to ensure the results of elections are valid;
A ban on internet-connected voting machines;
New requirements to ensure people with disabilities are able to access the ballot box without giving up their right to ballot secrecy; and
A new system to provide voters with timely tracking updates about the status of their absentee ballot applications and mail-in ballots.

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