With ACORN and its employees popping up in court rooms around the country for voter registration fraud, you would think Congress would be actively engaged in safeguarding this country’s voter registration process. Yet, some in Congress are taking legislative steps that could open the voting process up to more fraudulent activity.

Testifying before the House Administration Subcommittee on Elections, Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita – who has been both active and vocal in promoting online voter registration services in his home state – was critical of a leading Democrat proposal, the Voter Registration Modernization Act of 2009. It’s Secretary Rokita’s view that this bill “prohibits states from implementing safeguards to protect against the widespread and fraudulent ACORN-style registration tactics….”

According to a press release from the Republicans on the Committee on House Administration:

“Specifically, Rokita criticized a provsion included in the legislation that would prohibit a state from verifying an individual’s identity and eligibility to vote. ‘If this provision is not eliminated, fraudulent applications such as those submitted in the spring of 2008, would be added to the voter rolls – permitting a fictitious ‘Jimmy John’ or ‘Mickey Mouse’ to vote,’ Rokita warned.”

Is it any wonder that Congress has such a low approval rating with the American people? The right to vote, one of the most sacred and cherished tenets of U.S. citizenship, should be protected and not manipulated through fraudulent registration tactics.  Congress should work to ensure fair elections, not be lead the way to greater fraud. Some in the majority party here in Washington don’t seem to get that.

The Hill newspaper's Congress Blog posed a question today to Capitol Hill's influential lawmakers, pundits and interest group leaders in their weekly "Big Question" feature:

"What’s the next step for the GOP on the path back to electoral competitiveness?"

Here's what I had to say:

"The results of the 2006 and 2008 elections have forced the GOP to refocus their efforts to restore the conservative brand. Instead of just talking about fiscal responsibility (yet acting contrary to this message), we must once again restore the trust of the America voter through action."

Read the full post here.