Congressman Rob Bishop explains why he voted against election security bill

An election security bill passed through the House of Representatives this week, but not with the help of Utah Republican Congressman Rob Bishop.

Bishop told KSL Newsradio he voted against the bill because it had “too many flaws.”

It would have authorized $775 million dollars for election security systems in every U.S. state. And it required paper ballots. Bishop says those equate to a paper trail that could lead to cheating.

“People going in, picking up ballots, and then taking those ballots back with them from areas of people who don’t necessarily need to physically be there to vote. That is simply a process that is rife with the potential of potential cheating,” Bishop said.

Bishop says the bill would have given too much power to the federal government.  It passed the House with just one Republican voting in favor and was stopped in its tracks Thursday by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who said it was highly partisan.

A new poll finds most Utahns say that foreign interference in elections is a problem.  The Utah Political Trends poll was commissioned by UtahPolicy.com. It found that 51% of respondents said attempts by other governments to influence American elections is a major problem. Thirty-two percent of respondents said it was a minor problem.

When these polling results were broken down by party lines, the concern grew for those who were more likely to be a Democrat or liberal. Conservatives and Republicans didn’t see election security as such a pressing issue.