The Forgotten Consensus: Election Transparency Shouldn't Be a Partisan Issue

One of the greatest tragedies in American politics is that we often forget where we once agreed.

Today, discussions about election integrity frequently divide along partisan lines. Republicans tend to emphasize transparency, voter confidence and procedural safeguards, while Democrats often focus on voter access and election administration. The result is a conversation where each side assumes the other has always held the opposite position.

History tells a different story.

Long before election security became a defining issue for many conservatives, prominent Democratic lawmakers were among the nation's strongest advocates for strengthening voting systems, reducing dependence on paperless electronic voting and improving transparency in election technology.

Following the implementation of the Help America Vote Act in the early 2000s and again after the 2016 election, members of Congress from both parties expressed concerns about electronic voting equipment, cybersecurity vulnerabilities and proprietary software that could not be independently examined by the public.

Sen. Ron Wyden warned that poorly secured voting systems could expose elections to software failures and cyber threats. Sen. Amy Klobuchar pushed for stronger election security standards and expanded use of voter-verifiable paper records. Sen. Mark Warner repeatedly emphasized the growing cybersecurity risks posed by foreign adversaries seeking to undermine confidence in American elections.

Those concerns were not partisan talking points.

They reflected a broader principle that should still unite Americans today: our election systems should be transparent, resilient and worthy of public confidence.

That principle remains just as relevant today as it was twenty years ago.

Technology has brought tremendous benefits to election administration. It has improved accessibility, accelerated reporting and helped jurisdictions manage increasingly complex elections. At the same time, technology should never become a substitute for public confidence.

Confidence comes from transparency.

Regardless of political affiliation, voters should be able to understand how ballots are cast, counted and verified. Election officials should never find themselves in the position of asking citizens to simply trust a computer program they cannot inspect or proprietary software they cannot review.

That is why I believe Nebraska should continue exploring policies that strengthen transparency through voter-verifiable paper ballots, rigorous post-election audits, strong chain-of-custody procedures and meaningful public observation of the counting process.

Paper ballots alone are not enough. They must be supported by transparent procedures that allow bipartisan observers and citizens to witness the process and verify the results. Likewise, technology should remain a tool that supports election administration rather than replacing public accountability.

This should not be a Republican idea or a Democratic idea.

It should be an American idea.

Every voter deserves confidence that every legal ballot is accurately counted and every election is conducted fairly. That confidence grows when government welcomes scrutiny rather than discourages it.

As Americans, we have always found our greatest strength by returning to first principles rather than partisan talking points. Free and fair elections depend upon both security and public trust. Those objectives are not in conflict. They reinforce one another.

As Nebraska's next Secretary of State, I will work to strengthen both.

The office I seek does not belong to one political party. It belongs to the people of Nebraska. My responsibility will not be to defend one narrative or another. It will be to administer elections with integrity, transparency and professionalism while earning the confidence of every voter, regardless of political affiliation.

Perhaps the path forward begins by remembering something we have forgotten.

For many years, Americans across the political spectrum agreed that election systems should be transparent, auditable and accountable to the people. That consensus is worth reclaiming.

Because when confidence in our elections rises, confidence in our republic rises with it.