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On Tuesday, Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin announced his contribution to a report on election integrity, published by the Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC).

In a first-of-its-kind report, the RSLC has provided a roadmap which encourages states to adopt measures that embody key principles aimed at ensuring voter access and participation without sacrificing security, fairness, or transparency. This commission’s ongoing efforts recognize the importance of each state’s sovereign right to effectively manage their own elections.

“I was pleased to contribute to this report, cataloging a wide variety of statutory and procedural best practices in Louisiana and other states throughout the country,” Ardoin said. “The work done by this commission provides a direct conduit for state legislatures and secretaries of state to work together and restore voter confidence.”

Among the report’s proposed “best practices,” Louisiana has already implemented:

• Post-election audits.
• Seven days of early voting at 104 sites across the state.
• Maintenance of voter registration list through cooperation with government partners.
• Photo ID requirements.
• Allowing representatives from campaigns to serve as poll watchers.
• Pre-election testing of machines by the bipartisan Board of Election Supervisors, which is open to the public.
• Allowing any registered voter to be trained and serve as a poll commissioner, either during early voting or on Election Day.
• A robust system of communicating with voters to keep voters engaged and to provide accurate information about elections.

Among the report’s proposed “best practices,” Ardoin has proposed:

• Legislation to require the Louisiana Department of Health to share additional information concerning death records with the Department of State to ensure the continued accuracy of the voter registration list.
• Requiring any future voting machine in Louisiana to have a voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT).
• A more robust system of electronically verifying signatures on absentee ballots.

The entire report can be viewed online at www.rslc.gop/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/election-integrity-best-practices-final-v20210405.pdf.