Full Committee Hearing, "American Confidence in Elections: Looking Ahead to the 2024 General Election."
On Wednesday, September 11, 2024, at 9:30 a.m. ET, the Committee on House Administration will hold a hearing titled, “American Confidence in Elections: Looking Ahead to the 2024 General Election.” The hearing will take place in room 1310 of the Longworth House Office Building.
Hearing Summary
The Committee on House Administration will hold a full committee hearing entitled “American Confidence in Elections: Looking Ahead to the 2024 General Election” with six Secretaries of State who will testify about their needs and preparations for the 2024 election.Ranking Member Morelle has always been a proponent of supporting our nation’s election administrators and election workers. Earlier this year, Morelle penned an op-ed discussing the importance of funding our elections and supporting our nation’s election workers.
Opening Remarks
“Good morning. Thank you, Chairman Steil.
“And thank you to the secretaries for being here. We know you have a tremendous amount of work ahead to ensure our upcoming election is secure and fair.
“We are 55 days from Election Day.
“In 10 days, ballots will be sent to military and overseas voters.
“Soon, states will begin mailing out their absentee/mail-in ballots, and as the secretaries here know, preparations are well underway for early and Election Day in-person voting.
“The 2024 general election is here.
“Undoubtedly, there are many challenges ahead. Election officials are operating in an election season that continues to be marred by a steady drumbeat of mis- and disinformation, and we have only just begun to see the danger posed by the maligned use of artificial intelligence.
“This is not a speculative fear.
“In Michigan, a Republican candidate for Congress used an AI-generated audio of Martin Luther King Junior endorsing him in a campaign video.
“In New Hampshire, an AI-generated audio of President Biden was used to call voters and discourage them from participating in the Presidential primary.
“Our foreign adversaries are designing influence campaigns that leverage our flawed information environment to spread falsehoods about political candidates and parties.
“Just last week, the Department of Justice unsealed indictments against two Russian employees of the Kremlin-backed media outlet RT for violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act and money laundering to publish and disseminate content favorable to the Russian government.
“Separately, the DOJ seized more than 30 web domains that were part of a broader, ongoing effort by the Russian government to interfere in, and influence, the 2024 election and American public opinion.
“On top of this, domestic actors continue to spread lies and disinformation about the voting process and the security and integrity of our elections, and—four years later—continue questioning the results of the free and fair 2020 election.
“For months, we have heard the former President and others either refuse to say they will accept the outcome of the election, or condition their acceptance with an “if they are free and fair”— which undermines American’s confidence that our elections are, in fact, fair and secure.
“And just last week, former President Trump insisted in a Fox News interview that he had “every right” to interfere in the 2020 election, saying “whoever heard you get indicted for interfering with a presidential election where you have every right to do it?” There is no such right. It should go without saying—no one has the right to interfere with elections, and that includes the president.
“And I would hope that none of my colleagues on either side of the aisle would support these false claims.
“Additionally, election officials continue to face an unprecedented number of threats and significant harassment simply for doing their jobs. One secretary of state tracked a 600 percent increase in threats this year alone.
“While these challenges are serious, our democracy is strong. We will overcome the efforts of our foreign adversaries.
“Americans will not succumb to the torrent of mis- and disinformation.
“Let me speak clearly now for every American to hear. Our elections are secure.
“There is, however, more work for Congress to do. Election officials take on the essential, but often thankless work of running our elections and face increased threats, with too little—and inconsistent—funding from Congress.
“In FY2024, Congress appropriated $55 million to states and U.S. territories in election security grants. But we must do more to fully fund our elections.
“As Ranking Member of this Committee, and a member of the Appropriations Committee, I will continue pushing for additional and consistent elections funding.
“Election officials, their staffs, and poll workers need and deserve our support.
“Voters deserve truthful information about when, where, and how to register to vote and how to cast their ballot. They also deserve truthful information about the integrity—and the outcomes—of our elections.
“Providing both support and accurate information will allow election workers to administer secure and accessible elections, and provide Americans with confidence in the process and the outcomes.
“Today we have the opportunity to hear from six Secretaries of State—each their state’s chief election official—about how they are preparing for early voting, Election Day, and the post-election process, as well as how they are working with federal, state, and local partners, and the public, to carry out the 2024 election.
“Democracy is on the line this November, and each of you is critical to ensuring its success.
“We must continue fighting to protect our elections and those that run them, improve access to the ballot for every voter, and ensure states and localities have the funding and resources they need to conduct elections freely, fairly, securely, and safely.
“I would also like to thank my colleague Representative Carey, and the Chairman—I am pleased to have worked with them to pass a bipartisan bill Monday that would codify the House’s long-standing Congressional election observer program.
“I look forward to working with the Chairman over the next two months to continue this bipartisan and, importantly, non-partisan observer program, in which House staff serve in their official capacity as neutral, fact-gathering election observers.
“I look forward to hearing from all our witnesses, and I thank you for the work you and all the elections workers in your respective states are doing to ensure that every American has free, fair, and secure access to the ballot this November.
“With that, I yield back.”
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Witnesses
The Honorable Jocelyn Benson
Michigan Secretary of State
The Honorable Adrian Fontes
Arizona Secretary of State
The Honorable Maggie Toulouse Oliver
New Mexico Secretary of State
The Honorable Cord Byrd
Florida Secretary of State
The Honorable Frank LaRose
Ohio Secretary of State
The Honorable Mac Warner
West Virginia Secretary of State