A new law passed by the US House of Representatives aims to protect the rights of online voters and is likely to have a major impact on the future of US elections.
As of today, the legislation would require candidates and parties to publish detailed information about their campaigns, including who they spent their money on and where they spent it, as well as the name of every donor to each candidate.
It also mandates that online voting systems allow voters to vote for any candidate they wish without needing to sign up for a government account.
The US Federal Election Commission has been tasked with reviewing the law to determine whether it will affect the integrity of the election process.
The bill passed the House on Tuesday after it passed the Senate last month with bipartisan support.
The bill will now head to President Donald Trump’s desk, who is expected to sign it into law.
“I’m pleased that the US Congress has passed a bipartisan bill to help ensure that online voters can cast their ballots for candidates and policies that matter to them,” Republican Representative Earl Blumenauer said in a statement.
“Online voting is a critical tool for candidates who are focused on electing members of Congress, and it’s critical for small businesses and independents to participate in this important process.”
In response to the legislation, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), a US-based non-profit organisation, wrote on its website that it was “extremely concerned” that the bill was drafted in such a way that it would make it easier for political campaigns to “cheat” online voting.
EPIC wrote that the legislation “gives the appearance of a bipartisan solution when it comes to the integrity and integrity of elections”, adding that “there is no evidence that online vote manipulation is occurring”.
“Congress has the power to act now, and should pass this bipartisan bill, to ensure that voters’ right to vote online is protected,” EPICA wrote.
Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill said she hoped the legislation could be passed “in the coming weeks”.
“[The legislation] is intended to protect online voting from fraud, not to give candidates or parties a way to cheat the system.
If this bill becomes law, the Federal Election Campaign Act will be dead in the water, and the integrity we’ve come to rely on in our democracy will be jeopardised,” McCaskill told The New York Times.
It is the latest development in the increasingly bitter US presidential election.
In April, Republican candidate Mitt Romney, who had spent millions of dollars on online ads targeting Democrats and other progressive groups, said that he would not be participating in the 2020 election.
“I am not participating in this election, so I can tell you I am very disappointed,” Romney said at the time.
More recently, Democrat Bernie Sanders, who has also been critical of the electoral process, said that he had asked the Federal Elections Commission to investigate whether the online voting legislation was being abused by third parties.
Meanwhile, Republican Senator Richard Burr, who represents North Carolina, has said he intends to reintroduce the bill to the Senate.
Follow all the election news at: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2889542/What-you-need-to-know-election-law.html