7 Ways the 2005 Carter-Baker Report Could Have Averted Problems With 2020 E******n
Fred Lucas / @FredLucasWH / November 20, 2020 /
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On Sept. 19, 2005, former President Jimmy Carter (left) returned to the White House to provide President George W. Bush a copy of the report of the Commission on Federal E******n Reform. Carter co-chaired the commission with former Secretary of State James Baker. (Photo: Brendan Smialowski/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images)
They called on states to increase v**er ID requirements; to be leery of mail-in v****g; to halt b****t harvesting; to maintain v**er lists, in part to ensure dead people are promptly removed from them; to allow e******n observers to monitor b****t counting; and to make sure v****g machines are working properly. 
They also wanted the media to refrain from calling e******ns too early and from touting exit polls. 
All of this may sound eerily similar to the issues in the prolonged p**********l e******n battle of 2020. But these were among the 87 recommendations from the 2005 report of the bipartisan Commission on Federal E******n Reform, known informally as the Carter-Baker Commission. 
The bipartisan commission’s co-chairmen were former Democratic President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary of State James Baker, a Republican who served in the George H.W. Bush administration. 
The commission was created to address v****g and e******n integrity issues raised by the tumultuous 36-day poste******n battle of 2000, which was settled by the U.S. Supreme Court decision that resulted in awarding Florida’s 25 e*******l v**es and the presidency to Republican George W. Bush over Democrat Al Gore. 
Had Congress and state governments adopted many of the panel’s recommendations, the 2020 poste******n mess between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden might have been avoided, said Carter-Baker Commission member Kay C. James, now the president of The Heritage Foundation. 
“So many of the problems we’re now hearing about in the aftermath of the 2020 e******n could have been avoided had states heeded the advice of the Commission on Federal E******n Reform,” she said.  
James continued:
Simple protections against fraud, like v**er ID and updated v***r r**********n lists, make perfect sense if we truly believe that every v**e must count. E******n officials should take another look at the commission’s recommendations and make sure they’re doing everything possible to protect the integrity of our e******ns.
Several state legislatures adopted aspects of the recommendations, particularly v**er ID proposals. However, Congress reportedly was unenthusiastic about the report. 
Major media outlets have called the race for Biden, but e******n litigation is still playing out in courts, and v**es are still being counted. 
However, 70% of Republicans do not believe the 2020 e******n was free and fair, according to a Politico/Morning Consult poll. Before the e******n, just 35% of Republicans didn’t believe the e******n would be free and fair. The shift was different among Democrats, where 95% believed the e******n was free and fair afterward, compared with 52 who said the same before the e******n. 
Here’s a look at the 2005 panel’s recommendations relevant to this year’s e******ns. 
1) V**er IDs
With the vast expansion of mail-in v****g this year, v**er ID requirements were less likely.
Today, states have a patchwork of v**er ID laws, with 36 states either requiring or requesting v**ers to present identification at the polls, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The conference says only six states have “strict” photo ID requirements—Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. 
The Carter-Baker Commission called for v**er ID standards nationwide in its 2005 report. 
“To ensure that persons presenting themselves at the polling place are the ones on the registration list, the Commission recommends that states require v**ers to use the REAL ID card, which was mandated in a law signed by the President in May 2005,” the Carter-Baker Commission report said. 
“The card includes a person’s full legal name, date of birth, a signature (captured as a digital image), a photograph, and the person’s Social Security number. This card should be modestly adapted for v****g purposes to indicate on the front or back whether the individual is a U.S. citizen. States should provide an [E******n Assistance Commission]-template ID with a photo to non-drivers free of charge.”
Carter, when speaking months after the release of the report, said other countries not known for being examples of democracy had fairer e******ns than the United States, and stressed the need for photo IDs. 
“It’s disgraceful and embarrassing,” the former president said in May 2006. On IDs, Carter said, “Americans have to remember you have to have the equivalent to what we’re requiring to cast a b****t to cash a check or board a plane.” 
2) Mail-In and Absentee V****g Risks
In a brief filed supporting the Trump campaign’s Pennsylvania litigation over mail-in b****ts, a group of Republican state attorneys general reference the Cater-Baker Commission report among other items regarding mail-in v****g and b****t harvesting. 
The 2020 e******n trends seemed to shift dramatically as mailed-in v**es were counted. Further, many questions have emerged about the point of origin for b****ts. 
Specifically, the report called on states to prohibit third parties or political operatives from collecting b****ts—a practice commonly known as “b****t harvesting.”
The report stated: “Absentee b****ts remain the largest source of potential v***r f***d.”
“State and local jurisdictions should prohibit a person from handling absentee b****ts other than the v**er, an acknowledged family member, the U.S. Postal Service, or other legitimate shipper, or e******n officials,” the 2005 commission report said. “The practice in some states of allowing candidates or party workers to pick up and deliver absentee b****ts should be eliminated.”
However, this year, as mail-in v****g veered into becoming a partisan issue, the Carter Center issued a statement promoting support for mail-in v****g, but maintaining safeguards against b****t harvesting.
The Carter Center, founded by the former president and first lady Rosalynn Carter, is affiliated with Emory University and promotes peace and democracy efforts globally and domestically. 
A Carter Center press release in May said the commission report “noted among its many findings and recommendations that because it takes place outside the regulated environment of local polling locations, v****g by mail creates increased logistical challenges and the potential for v**e f***d, especially if safeguards are lacking or when candidates or political party activists are allowed to handle mail-in or absentee b****ts.”
“However, the Carter-Baker Commission found that where safeguards for b****t integrity are in place—for example in Oregon, where the entire state has v**ed by mail since 1998—there was little evidence of v***r f***d,” the Carter Center statement continued.
The commission’s main recommendations on v**e-by-mail and absentee v****g were to increase research on v**e-by-mail (and early v****g) and to eliminate the practice of allowing candidates or party workers to pick up and deliver absentee b****ts.  
Fortunately, since 2005, many states have gained substantial experience in v**e-by-mail and have shown how key concerns can be effectively addressed through appropriate planning, resources, training, and messaging.
Carter himself is quoted in the press release saying, “I urge political leaders across the country to take immediate steps to expand v**e-by-mail and other measures that can help protect the core of American democracy—the right of our citizens to v**e.”
3) Avoiding Duplicate Registration Across State Lines
In Nevada, the Trump campaign asserts there were potentially thousands of out-of-state v**es cast in one of the most closely contested states. 
The Carter-Baker Commission report called for states to make it easier to track registered v**ers who move from one state to another to reduce duplication of registrations. 
The report states, “Invalid v**er files, which contain ineligible, duplicate, fictional, or deceased v**ers, are an invitation to fraud.”  
“In order to assure that lists take account of citizens moving from one state to another, v**er databases should be made interoperable between states,” the Carter-Baker report stated. “This would serve to eliminate duplicate registrations, which are a source of potential fraud.” 
The report calls for states to maintain and update their v***r r**********n lists.
“When an eligible v**er moves from one state to another, the state to which the v**er is moving should be required to notify the state which the v**er is leaving to eliminate that v**er from its registration list,” the report said, adding: 
All states should have procedures for maintaining accurate lists, such as electronic matching of death records, driver’s licenses, local tax rolls, and felon records. 
Federal and state courts should provide state e******n offices with the lists of individuals who declare they are non-citizens when they are summoned for jury duty.
4) E******n Observers for Integrity
In Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Nevada, Republicans have complained that qualified e******n observers have been prohibited from watching the counting. 
The Carter-Baker Commission report stressed the need for e******n observers to maintain the integrity of the b****ts. 
“All legitimate domestic and international e******n observers should be granted unrestricted access to the e******n process, provided that they accept e******n rules, do not interfere with the e*******l process, and respect the secrecy of the b****t,” the 2005 report said. 
Such observers should apply for accreditation, which should allow them to visit any polling station in any state and to view all parts of the e******n process, including the testing of v****g equipment, the processing of absentee b****ts, and the v**e count. 
States that limit e******n observation only to representatives of candidates and political parties should amend their e******n laws to explicitly permit accreditation of independent and international e******n observers.
5) Reliable V****g Machines
V****g machines have also been a significant issue in 2020, particularly in Michigan, as one county there flipped from Biden to Trump after a hand recount showed the machine count to be inaccurate. 
The Carter-Baker Commission suggested that machines print out paper receipts for v**ers to verify their v**e was accurately counted. 
“States should adopt unambiguous procedures to reconcile any disparity between the electronic b****t tally and the paper b****t tally,” the 2005 report says. “The Commission strongly recommends that states determine well in advance of e******ns which will be the b****t of record.”
6) Media Calling E******ns
On e******n night, Fox News Channel was the first to call the state of Arizona for Biden, prompting outrage in the Trump camp. Moreover, major media outlets have projected Biden to have won the e******n, even as v**e counting and litigation continue. 
The 2005 commission report also addressed problems with the media, suggesting news outlets voluntarily offer candidates free airtime and also show restraint in calling a state for one candidate or the other. The First Amendment would prevent any such rule from being mandatory. 
“News organizations should voluntarily refrain from projecting any p**********l e******n results in any state until all of the polls have closed in the 48 contiguous states,” the report states. “News organizations should voluntarily agree to delay the release of any exit-poll data until the e******n has been decided.”
7) Prosecuting V***r F***d
The Carter-Baker Commission suggested that federal and state prosecutors should more aggressively monitor v***r f***d. 
“In July of even-numbered years, the U.S. Department of Justice should issue a public report on its investigations of e******n f***d,” the report says. 
This report should specify the numbers of allegations made, matters investigated, cases prosecuted, and individuals convicted for various crimes. Each state’s attorney general and each local prosecutor should issue a similar report. … The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Public Integrity should increase its staff to investigate and prosecute e******n-related fraud.

7 Ways the 2005 Carter-Baker Report Could Have Averted Problems With 2020 E******n
Fred Lucas / @FredLucasWH / November 20, 2020 /


On Sept. 19, 2005, former President Jimmy Carter (left) returned to the White House to provide President George W. Bush a copy of the report of the Commission on Federal E******n Reform. Carter co-chaired the commission with former Secretary of State James Baker. (Photo: Brendan Smialowski/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images)
They called on states to increase v**er ID requirements; to be leery of mail-in v****g; to halt b****t harvesting; to maintain v**er lists, in part to ensure dead people are promptly removed from them; to allow e******n observers to monitor b****t counting; and to make sure v****g machines are working properly. 
They also wanted the media to refrain from calling e******ns too early and from touting exit polls. 
All of this may sound eerily similar to the issues in the prolonged p**********l e******n battle of 2020. But these were among the 87 recommendations from the 2005 report of the bipartisan Commission on Federal E******n Reform, known informally as the Carter-Baker Commission. 
The bipartisan commission’s co-chairmen were former Democratic President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary of State James Baker, a Republican who served in the George H.W. Bush administration. 
The commission was created to address v****g and e******n integrity issues raised by the tumultuous 36-day poste******n battle of 2000, which was settled by the U.S. Supreme Court decision that resulted in awarding Florida’s 25 e*******l v**es and the presidency to Republican George W. Bush over Democrat Al Gore. 
Had Congress and state governments adopted many of the panel’s recommendations, the 2020 poste******n mess between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden might have been avoided, said Carter-Baker Commission member Kay C. James, now the president of The Heritage Foundation. 
“So many of the problems we’re now hearing about in the aftermath of the 2020 e******n could have been avoided had states heeded the advice of the Commission on Federal E******n Reform,” she said.  
James continued:
Simple protections against fraud, like v**er ID and updated v***r r**********n lists, make perfect sense if we truly believe that every v**e must count. E******n officials should take another look at the commission’s recommendations and make sure they’re doing everything possible to protect the integrity of our e******ns.
Several state legislatures adopted aspects of the recommendations, particularly v**er ID proposals. However, Congress reportedly was unenthusiastic about the report. 
Major media outlets have called the race for Biden, but e******n litigation is still playing out in courts, and v**es are still being counted. 
However, 70% of Republicans do not believe the 2020 e******n was free and fair, according to a Politico/Morning Consult poll. Before the e******n, just 35% of Republicans didn’t believe the e******n would be free and fair. The shift was different among Democrats, where 95% believed the e******n was free and fair afterward, compared with 52 who said the same before the e******n. 
Here’s a look at the 2005 panel’s recommendations relevant to this year’s e******ns. 
1) V**er IDs
With the vast expansion of mail-in v****g this year, v**er ID requirements were less likely.
Today, states have a patchwork of v**er ID laws, with 36 states either requiring or requesting v**ers to present identification at the polls, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The conference says only six states have “strict” photo ID requirements—Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. 
The Carter-Baker Commission called for v**er ID standards nationwide in its 2005 report. 
“To ensure that persons presenting themselves at the polling place are the ones on the registration list, the Commission recommends that states require v**ers to use the REAL ID card, which was mandated in a law signed by the President in May 2005,” the Carter-Baker Commission report said. 
“The card includes a person’s full legal name, date of birth, a signature (captured as a digital image), a photograph, and the person’s Social Security number. This card should be modestly adapted for v****g purposes to indicate on the front or back whether the individual is a U.S. citizen. States should provide an [E******n Assistance Commission]-template ID with a photo to non-drivers free of charge.”
Carter, when speaking months after the release of the report, said other countries not known for being examples of democracy had fairer e******ns than the United States, and stressed the need for photo IDs. 
“It’s disgraceful and embarrassing,” the former president said in May 2006. On IDs, Carter said, “Americans have to remember you have to have the equivalent to what we’re requiring to cast a b****t to cash a check or board a plane.” 
2) Mail-In and Absentee V****g Risks
In a brief filed supporting the Trump campaign’s Pennsylvania litigation over mail-in b****ts, a group of Republican state attorneys general reference the Cater-Baker Commission report among other items regarding mail-in v****g and b****t harvesting. 
The 2020 e******n trends seemed to shift dramatically as mailed-in v**es were counted. Further, many questions have emerged about the point of origin for b****ts. 
Specifically, the report called on states to prohibit third parties or political operatives from collecting b****ts—a practice commonly known as “b****t harvesting.”
The report stated: “Absentee b****ts remain the largest source of potential v***r f***d.”
“State and local jurisdictions should prohibit a person from handling absentee b****ts other than the v**er, an acknowledged family member, the U.S. Postal Service, or other legitimate shipper, or e******n officials,” the 2005 commission report said. “The practice in some states of allowing candidates or party workers to pick up and deliver absentee b****ts should be eliminated.”
However, this year, as mail-in v****g veered into becoming a partisan issue, the Carter Center issued a statement promoting support for mail-in v****g, but maintaining safeguards against b****t harvesting.
The Carter Center, founded by the former president and first lady Rosalynn Carter, is affiliated with Emory University and promotes peace and democracy efforts globally and domestically. 
A Carter Center press release in May said the commission report “noted among its many findings and recommendations that because it takes place outside the regulated environment of local polling locations, v****g by mail creates increased logistical challenges and the potential for v**e f***d, especially if safeguards are lacking or when candidates or political party activists are allowed to handle mail-in or absentee b****ts.”
“However, the Carter-Baker Commission found that where safeguards for b****t integrity are in place—for example in Oregon, where the entire state has v**ed by mail since 1998—there was little evidence of v***r f***d,” the Carter Center statement continued.
The commission’s main recommendations on v**e-by-mail and absentee v****g were to increase research on v**e-by-mail (and early v****g) and to eliminate the practice of allowing candidates or party workers to pick up and deliver absentee b****ts.  
Fortunately, since 2005, many states have gained substantial experience in v**e-by-mail and have shown how key concerns can be effectively addressed through appropriate planning, resources, training, and messaging.
Carter himself is quoted in the press release saying, “I urge political leaders across the country to take immediate steps to expand v**e-by-mail and other measures that can help protect the core of American democracy—the right of our citizens to v**e.”
3) Avoiding Duplicate Registration Across State Lines
In Nevada, the Trump campaign asserts there were potentially thousands of out-of-state v**es cast in one of the most closely contested states. 
The Carter-Baker Commission report called for states to make it easier to track registered v**ers who move from one state to another to reduce duplication of registrations. 
The report states, “Invalid v**er files, which contain ineligible, duplicate, fictional, or deceased v**ers, are an invitation to fraud.”  
“In order to assure that lists take account of citizens moving from one state to another, v**er databases should be made interoperable between states,” the Carter-Baker report stated. “This would serve to eliminate duplicate registrations, which are a source of potential fraud.” 
The report calls for states to maintain and update their v***r r**********n lists.
“When an eligible v**er moves from one state to another, the state to which the v**er is moving should be required to notify the state which the v**er is leaving to eliminate that v**er from its registration list,” the report said, adding: 
All states should have procedures for maintaining accurate lists, such as electronic matching of death records, driver’s licenses, local tax rolls, and felon records. 
Federal and state courts should provide state e******n offices with the lists of individuals who declare they are non-citizens when they are summoned for jury duty.
4) E******n Observers for Integrity
In Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Nevada, Republicans have complained that qualified e******n observers have been prohibited from watching the counting. 
The Carter-Baker Commission report stressed the need for e******n observers to maintain the integrity of the b****ts. 
“All legitimate domestic and international e******n observers should be granted unrestricted access to the e******n process, provided that they accept e******n rules, do not interfere with the e*******l process, and respect the secrecy of the b****t,” the 2005 report said. 
Such observers should apply for accreditation, which should allow them to visit any polling station in any state and to view all parts of the e******n process, including the testing of v****g equipment, the processing of absentee b****ts, and the v**e count. 
States that limit e******n observation only to representatives of candidates and political parties should amend their e******n laws to explicitly permit accreditation of independent and international e******n observers.
5) Reliable V****g Machines
V****g machines have also been a significant issue in 2020, particularly in Michigan, as one county there flipped from Biden to Trump after a hand recount showed the machine count to be inaccurate. 
The Carter-Baker Commission suggested that machines print out paper receipts for v**ers to verify their v**e was accurately counted. 
“States should adopt unambiguous procedures to reconcile any disparity between the electronic b****t tally and the paper b****t tally,” the 2005 report says. “The Commission strongly recommends that states determine well in advance of e******ns which will be the b****t of record.”
6) Media Calling E******ns
On e******n night, Fox News Channel was the first to call the state of Arizona for Biden, prompting outrage in the Trump camp. Moreover, major media outlets have projected Biden to have won the e******n, even as v**e counting and litigation continue. 
The 2005 commission report also addressed problems with the media, suggesting news outlets voluntarily offer candidates free airtime and also show restraint in calling a state for one candidate or the other. The First Amendment would prevent any such rule from being mandatory. 
“News organizations should voluntarily refrain from projecting any p**********l e******n results in any state until all of the polls have closed in the 48 contiguous states,” the report states. “News organizations should voluntarily agree to delay the release of any exit-poll data until the e******n has been decided.”
7) Prosecuting V***r F***d
The Carter-Baker Commission suggested that federal and state prosecutors should more aggressively monitor v***r f***d. 
“In July of even-numbered years, the U.S. Department of Justice should issue a public report on its investigations of e******n f***d,” the report says. 
This report should specify the numbers of allegations made, matters investigated, cases prosecuted, and individuals convicted for various crimes. Each state’s attorney general and each local prosecutor should issue a similar report. … The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Public Integrity should increase its staff to investigate and prosecute e******n-related fraud.