WAGOP Joins Regional Movement to END Vote-By-Mail
Educate. Advocate. Mitigate. Activate!
The Washington State Republican Party (WAGOP), led by Chairman Jim Walsh, has officially joined the effort to reform elections in Washington state with Initiative Measure No. IL23-126, a citizen-led effort that would require Voter ID and Proof of Citizenship to vote.
“Currently in our law and processes, there is NO reliable mechanism for demonstrating you're a US citizen, so people who are NOT US Citizens are registering to vote, we want to fix that by requiring proof citizenship" says WAGOP Chairman - KOMO TV News interview of Jim Walsh discussing IL23-125 here.
The #ENDVBM Movement, which started in Oregon, is a regional effort advocating for one-day, in-person voting with voter identification, hand-counted ballots, clean databases, and designating election day as a national holiday. The aim is to restore trust and transparency in the election process, where one-party rule has failed to manage voter databases and adequately address other questionable practices.
“Nobody takes responsibility for making sure that registered voters are actual citizens and otherwise legal voters,” says Chairman Walsh. “You press the Department of Licensing, and you press the Secretary of State, and they end up pointing fingers at each other.”
“Our long-term goal is to get where ENDVBM is going,” adds Chairman Walsh, who also serves as State Representative for Southwest Washington. “We want to get back to in-person voting. We want to get back to a same-day vote count.”
The regional #ENDVBM effort aligns with the Trump Administration’s executive order, Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections.
“Washingtonians of all political stripes have been asking the WAGOP to do something about election integrity in our state,” says Chairman Walsh. “For the past 18 months, WAGOP has been developing and implementing a strategy to take effective action. We studied the state’s election system to find the most vulnerable parts. Then, we filed lawsuits and drafted legislation. From there, we’ve redrafted the latest citizen-led initiative.”
Initiative IL26-126, when implemented as law, will help move that good reform process forward.
OF NOTE: Several jurisdictions across the country are moving to election systems that use paper poll books and hand-counted paper ballots with one day of voting. This provides transparency, verifiability, and security in elections.
All phases of the election process are open and transparent to the public, with bipartisan and or impartial participation and oversight:
Poll workers verify voters through proof of citizenship and photo ID
Local election officials maintain up-to-date voter rolls
Poll workers log and validate voters through paper poll books
States return to one-day voting in person at their precinct, except for UOCAVA (Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act) voters
Laws minimize absentee and mail-in voting
Where possible, states should institute 100% hand-counting of hand-marked ballots in public, with bipartisan representation and with recorded or live-stream video capabilities
Election results are publicly reported first to the precinct, then the county, then the state
The public may gain access to election records 48 hours before the canvassing certification
However, change won’t happen on its own. To make secure elections a reality, we must act now. Election officials, legislators, and citizens must unite to reform processes, update laws, and educate voters. Paper ballots offer the transparency, verifiability, and security we’ve been demanding, boosting voter turnout and restoring faith in our constitutional republic!
Additionally, please prioritize supporting the many good candidates and representatives (at all levels of government) who advocate for election integrity.
Bill Bruch
Bill Bruch is the WA State GOP Election Integrity Committee Chairman (5th year), WAGOP Executive Board Member (5th Year), Skagit County GOP Chairman (9th year), Citizen Journalist, Blogger, Business Owner, 2020 WA State House Representative Candidate, Former Council Member, and WA State 2016 and 2024 RNC National Convention Delegate.