Government watchdog asks Election Commission to add higher verification to its proposed standards

America First Legal, a government watchdog nonprofit, submitted a formal comment on Monday to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission asking it to strengthen its proposed standards with voter citizenship verification, ballot drop box security and signature verification. 

The EAC published the proposed standards in February pursuant to the Help America Vote Act of 2002, with the goal of establishing baseline expectations for how elections are reviewed, verified and evaluated.

America First Legal supports the EAC proposed standards, but argues they have significant gaps, which the group's verification process would address. 

"Election audits are meaningless if they ignore the most basic questions of election integrity. We appreciate the EAC’s effort to establish a national framework, and this proposal is an important step in the right direction. But stronger standards require addressing the issues voters care most about, including whether only eligible citizens are voting, whether ballot drop boxes are secure, and whether signature verification is being audited effectively," Alice Kass, attorney at America First Legal, said in a statement.