Make Elections Great Again Act
Summary
The Make Elections Great Again Act aims to implement several nationwide requirements for the conduct of federal elections. If enacted, the bill would require all voters to present a valid photo identification to cast a ballot and would mandate that individuals provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote. It also proposes stricter voter list maintenance, requiring states to perform routine audits to remove ineligible names from registration rolls.
The legislation would significantly change how mail-in voting and ballot counting are handled. It proposes to ban universal vote-by-mail systems, requiring voters to specifically request an absentee ballot instead. Additionally, it would require that all mail-in ballots be received by the time polls close on Election Day to be counted, and it would prohibit the practice of "ballot harvesting," where third parties collect and submit ballots for others. The bill also seeks to ban the use of ranked-choice voting in federal elections and would require the use of auditable paper ballots.
For everyday citizens, these changes would mean more standardized rules for voting across different states, but they could also introduce new documentation requirements for registration and stricter deadlines for returning mail-in ballots. The bill also proposes to limit the role of federal agencies in voter registration activities and provides for increased enforcement mechanisms, including potential civil and criminal penalties for violations of these new standards.