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Committee on House Administration Chairperson Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) issued the following statement today as House Democrats introduced legislation to protect our democracy and American voters during the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring voters can cast their ballots without risking their wellbeing.

Today, on Wednesday, September 23, 2020, House Democrats introduced the Protecting Our Democracy Act – a landmark reforms package that will prevent future presidential abuses, restore our system of checks and balances, strengthen accountability and transparency, and protect our elections.

Today, Committee on House Administration Chairperson Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Senate Rules Committee Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) introduced legislation to direct the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to carry all election mail at a First-Class standard, postmark all ballots for federal elections, improve the processing of election mail, and have Congress reimburse USPS for carrying all election mail without postage. The Committee on House Administration and Senate Rules Committee are the primary congressional committees charged with oversight over federal elections.

Today, House Administration Committee Chairperson Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) joined House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) in calling on the Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General to open an emergency investigation into whether Attorney General William Barr, U.S. Attorney John Durham, and other political appointees are in violation of longstanding Department policy and federal law to avoid taking any action – including making public comments on ongoing investigations – that could improperly influence the upcoming presidential election.

Committee on House Administration Chairperson Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Subcommittee on Elections Chairperson Marcia L. Fudge (D-Ohio) issued the following statement today following news that Republican Commissioners on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR) blocked the release of a report on the Commission’s research and findings related to barriers voters of color, voters with disabilities, and voters at higher risk of COVID-19 face in accessing the ballot box during the pandemic.

Today, Committee on House Administration Chairperson Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) joined Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ranking Member on the Senate Rules Committee, Representative Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), Chairman of the House Judiciary, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Representative Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.), Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, on a letter to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), urging Director John Ratcliffe to immediately reschedule critical in-person election security briefings ahead of the November general election. On August 28, 2020, Director Ratcliffe sent a letter notifying Congress that in-person briefings would stop.

Following a hearing today to educate Americans about best practices to ensure their votes are cast safely and counted during the COVID-19 pandemic, Committee on House Administration Democrats issued the following statements:

House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement today on the Committee on House Administration's hearing on how to safely vote during this pandemic: