MEGA Act moves in House; NACo raises county concerns
Key Takeaways
On Feb. 10, the U.S. House Committee on Administration held a hearing to consider the Make Elections Great Again (MEGA) Act (H.R. 7300), which was introduced by Committee Chairman Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wis).
Counties administer the vast majority of elections in the United States. In partnership with states, county officials oversee voter registration, ballot administration, vote tabulation, list maintenance and post-election processes. Counties are committed to secure, accurate and well administered elections that promote public confidence and voter participation.
What’s in the bill?
The MEGA Act would establish new federal requirements for voter identification, documentary proof of citizenship for registration, ongoing voter list maintenance, database verification with federal agencies, standardized mail ballot procedures, paper ballot requirements and expanded enforcement mechanisms, including civil and criminal penalties.
Ahead of the hearing, NACo sent a letter to the House Committee on Administration raising concerns about county impacts – while the legislation creates significant new federal mandates, it provides no dedicated funding for state or local implementation.
Unfunded mandate concerns include:
- Increased staffing and training to implement new identification, documentation and verification requirements
- Technology upgrades and system integration with federal and state databases
- Ongoing list maintenance and public reporting obligations
- Mail ballot tracking and processing system changes
- Paper ballot compliance and audit related costs
- Legal compliance and risk management exposure tied to new enforcement provisions
Counties are committed to secure and accurate elections. However, federal reforms of this scope should be fully funded, provide reasonable implementation timelines and be developed in partnership with state and local governments.
How the MEGA Act Differs from the SAVE Act
Another important piece of legislation, Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act (H.R. 22) focuses primarily on requiring documentary proof of United States citizenship for federal voter registration; however, the MEGA Act is broader in scope. The MEGA Act would establish additional nationwide standards affecting voter identification, ballot procedures and election administration beyond voter registration requirements.
Learn more about the SAVE Act here.
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Resource
The County Role in Elections: How Counties Administer Secure Elections
