Transcripts For CSPAN Hearing On Voting Rights During Coronavirus Pandemic 20240712

Police, give them the fortitude to carry on with peace in all of their hearts and understanding and acceptance and peace in the hearts of the protesters as well. And to the people who have rioted, give them understanding that there are better ways to go about their lives. Amen. I would like to start this hearing. The committee on the judiciary subcommittee of constitution, civil rights, and Civil Liberties will come to order. Without objection, the chair has authorized to declare a recess at any time. I welcome everyone to todays hearing on protecting the rights of voters during the covid19 pandemic. I thank all of our witnesses for joining us today and i thank my colleagues for conducting in this new format and continuing to serve the American People during these challenging times. This is the First Committee conducted under the new house remote rules. So we might have a few spots, but we will get through them. I would like to remind members we have established an email address and distribution list dedicated to circulating exhibits or other materials members white members might want to offer today. If you would like to submit materials, send them to at mail. Docs house. Gov. The gentleman from georgia, mr. Collins, our former Ranking Member will be joining the subcommittee for the remember for the remainder of this congress. Since the full come at he has not been able to meet to ratify the subcommittee assignments he will be assuming, without objection, mr. Collins will be designated as a Voting Member of this subcommittee for the purpose of todays hearing. Welcome back, mr. Collins. I will now recognize myself for an Opening Statement. We are in the midst of one of those moments in our nations history where confronting a confluence of crises, the way we respond to them will shape fundamentally who we are as a people. To begin with, we meet virtually today because we are in the middle of a Global Pandemic that has taken the lives of over 100,000 of our fellow citizens. Preexistingated inequalities, disproportionally affecting africanamericans among other historically disadvantaged people. This impact reflects americas original sin a sin that is , recognized in our founding document, the constitution, and that is slavery. Pervasive antiblack, white supremacist ideology that undergirded it and continued on through jim crow laws and today,nce to change even resulting in unequal opportunities and other consequences we are still grappling with. And tragic manifestation of this racist poison is the pattern of practice of Police Violence against africanamericans and the justifiable rage americans feel. We have seen that on the seat on the streets all over america with Peaceful Protesters. In the past week, thousands have taken to the streets across the country to call for an end to Police Violence and affirm that black lives matter. I stand in solidarity with all Peaceful Protesters and will do everything in my power as chairman to do a better and more just america, which i have dedicated my entire book life too, starting back in 1977. Too, entire public life starting back in 1977. The issue we are here to discuss, the right to vote during the covid19 pandemic is intrinsically tied to the protests across this nation. Police violence against black americans and suppressing the right to vote are two sides of the same coin. The coin of systemic racism that has plagued our country since before its founding, in 1619 when africanamericans were first brought to this country as slaves. Inc. About it 1619. That was 250 years for we became a nation. We had slavery. Presence w to the to the present, in my home region in the south, but elsewhere as well, has sought to deny the ability of black americans and other people of color to vote. Disabilities, language minority voters, and native americans among others also had their right to vote undermine throughout our history. Now we are dealing with a viral pandemic threatening the ability for most people to vote safely in our elections. It disproportionally affects voters of color. Will they adapt to this new reality and ensure that everyone can vote safely in november, or they fail to act in the face of this historic challenge. Must et their ballots by mail if they choose and they shouldnt have to go through this endless bureaucratic way to do it. President trump said theres an inherent fraud. Thats been backed by every in addition study this past election from utah, oregon, washington two yesterday in pennsylvania. But he also said when he made that message recently without this case thinking about politics. The fact is many republicans support the mailin voting and benefited from it. States must proactively send out ballots to voters or at least for the mailin ballots to make it easy for people especially if there is a spike come november for even worse conditions and more reasons to be concerned. For Many Americans such as those that have changed address, voting by mail is not a realistic option. The most obvious way to ensure the polling places is to spread out the Voting Period and allow people to cast their ballots early. The act that passed the house is now sitting before the senate and we mandate each of those things. It gives the funding they desperately need to carry all of those out. The if we can afford to give the treasury 500 billion to bail out corporations, we can certainly afford the 3. 6 billion but it will cost to safeguard the very unique system of government was the source of power and people. No american should have to choose between their health and their right to vote. Democracy including the right to vote is the way our founders respond to whatever challenges we place. Its been and will be the characteristic of who we are as a nation. I look forward to hearing from each of the witnesses gathered here today and thank them for agreeing to appear and testify on this subject. And at this point, it is my pleasure to recognize the Ranking Member of the subcommittee, the gentleman from louisiana, mr. Johnson for his Opening Statement. Thank you, mr. Chairman, and thanks to everybody. Thank you everyone for joining us this morning. This is an important subject and i appreciate the prayer. Everybody needs that right now. The facts show that mr. George appears to have been murdered. I do not think the footage can lead anyone to believe anything else. The tragedy spotlights, as you have said, the tragedy in our country. That the Senate Reconciliation and Transformative Solutions has a change and we all agree those are long overdue. So that we boldly declare this that and that we are all endowed by god himself with the same inalienable rights. Everybody has volume and then to contribute to society it is inherent. Any fool that contends any natural right of supremacy over his neighbors violates not only the creed of america any fool that contends any natural right of supremacy over his neighbors violates not only the creed of america that is articulated in because addition, and thats important to acknowledge. We also pray that he protects the brave, honorable men and women who risk their lives every day on the front line for lawenforcement because they, too, are in jeopardy right now. Violence on our nations streets needs to stop, and i am sure we know we all, agree on that. The second thing i want to say is that the covid19 pandemic has affected our country in countless ways. We want to express our condolences to those who have lost their battle with this invisible enemy, and we want to applaud the First Responders and doctors and nurses and the trump administration, too, for taking crucial steps to help to stem the spread any further. I am glad that President Trump instituted an early travel ban from china, despite chinas efforts about the effect of the virus. I am glad the president instituted sanitation protocols in a task force and along with Vice President pence. With decades in Public Health has been very important for the country in our response. We are all adjusting to the new normal. We have to say we are disappointed the committee is not meeting in d. C. Right now to conduct this important hearing. We believe that if Grocery Store workers and healthcare personnel employeesessential can show up in person to do their job, we should do the same thing. That on the issue of the hearing today, i just want to say, and i will be brief, we all believe in the importance of the election that is essential to republican or democratic form and the one. We want every eligible american to participate in every vote we. We just dont believe the suggestions proposed on the other side of the aisle are in the best interest of the election system. Unfortunately. What has been proposed with the vast and broad federal mandates on how state should run the election. We believe the mandate is in the constitution itself. The election clause gives them ability to administer within their jurisdiction. Congress does have the authority to override the state laws but , but, much like everything else, states are in the best position to determine based on each states individual needs. In our nation byducting elections only mail, the hardest to be legalized nationwide. And to increase at the worst possible time and increase susceptibility to fraud. Times hasew york concluded that there is a bipartisan consensus voting by mail is more easily abuse than d than other forms. Similarly the Bipartisan Commission cochaired by former president jimmy carter and secretary of state bakers said in their final report in 2005 that, quote absentee ballots is , the largest source of potential voter fraud in american elections. In addition to voting fraud absentee voting also has , practical problems compared to in person voting on election day or early voting. We need to discuss those implications on the elections , and putting aside the logistical concerns this close to november, we need to seriously examine the accuracy of state Voter Registration law. Roles. There are several states whose outnumber the actual citizens in the state. And those that can deliver ballots on time and to the right people in the state. While i acknowledge concerns about the pandemic and the election, now is not the time. There is too much at risk. We should be discussing how to vote in person safely in light of the new circumstances when you consider how the federal government can make our own decisions regarding the election and respond to the unique circumstances. I look forward to listening and hope we can have a thoughtful discussion. I thank you again, mr. Chairman, for the opening and the tone, and i yield back. You are welcome. Thank you for your statement i. I would like to recognize the gentleman from the Judiciary Committee for his Opening Statement, and i thank you to all of the witnesses for joining us today. Nadler i want to note the committee has been hard at work since the outbreak of the pandemic, and then we discussed issues such as price gouging during the covid19 crisis and those in prisons and jails at the pandemic. And then to include measures in the cares act in response to what we learned and with that covid19 crisis in many standards to individuals is a nice detention and those that do not pose a risk to Public Safety , so when the heroes act for the protection of homeowners and significant funding and the violence against women act and the Legal Services corporation. We have also produced legislation to ensure Public Safety officers that have died or become disabled as a result of covid19 will receive the benefits that they deserve. And next week, as i announced over the weekend, we will hold the hearing to address issues of accountability. Even though we are spread across the country, this committee is hard at work, and we appreciate all the members during these challenging times. I also need to acknowledge these profoundly painful moments of our nation with violence against black americans once again have been torn open. And in response, thousands of americans have peacefully taken to the streets for their Constitutional Rights that are long overdue. We have a proud history of protests and demonstration in this country, but even at the most basic level, we govern ourselves at the ballot box. Our leaders, from local sheriffs and members of congress are the president are supposed to be chosen by popular will. That is what makes the country a democracy. That is at the very core of governance for by the people. Some in the face of the Global Pandemic in fact business as usual with hours long lines and andrges of voter rolls, those designed to suppress americas right to vote is at the heart of the system of selfgovernance. And today, it might even be deadly, and the question if we can call ourselves even a democracy at all. If this sounds alarming, consider this. If people did not vote because of their race or income or disability or the way they live. The response to play games the way that they may hold power is not a democracy, it is something else. Thathat is a government makes us choose between exercising the most fundamental soht, the right to vote, and i would like to say directly to the American People there is no sitting this out, that for the democracy and then with the right this november and then protecting your own health and in speaking to all the voters to vote by mail this november and to have those resources to ensure and also have in person voting for those who choose not to vote by mail. Provided federal resources to ensure that this happens smoothly. We must also preserve voting options for those who choose not to vote by mail or are unable to do so, so that no one is disenfranchised. We can rise to these unprecedented challenges and carry out carry out free and Fair Elections in despite the november, pandemic. We know what needs to be done , but it will not happen without our focus and vision. Todays hearing is the first step in that process. Thank you for holding this hearing, and i yield back the balance of my time. We would normally note to the Ranking Member he does not have a statement so the state straight to the witnesses think it is a for this hearing and allow to have each of the witnesses and their introduction. We will recognize that witness for statement and then to be in their entirety. And then we encourage you to limit those remarks so we have the maximum amount of time to ask questions. I will bang my gavel and also there will be a timer on your screen. Please be mindful. I will be strict in the fiveminute rule. I would remind all of our witnesses you have a legal obligation to provide a truthful statement to the subcommittee in , and any false statement could subject you to prosecution. Witness is the 47 secretary of state to ensure that elections are secure and accessible to michigan voters and the secretaries of state call the democratic process the first role as secretary of state is to enforce Campaign Finance law. Receiving her jd from Harvard Law School and from University School of the law in detroit, michigan, which i visited with chairman conyers in past years. She is an expert on civil rights and election law. Met up secretary, you are recognized for five minutes. Thank you. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. I started my career in montgomery, alabama, and it was there i developed and solidified my own commitment for those that sacrifice and work that everyone is protected and secure today as. It was there as the secretary of state chief election officer i am informed and inspired by many colleagues and advocates around the country many of whom im honored to speak alongside today. As a whole, secretaries of state are working across party lines are accessible and secure in the midst of the pandemic into the 2020 election , but we need your help. Democracy is a team sport. We need a sustained and committed partner in the federal government to ensure voters have the clarity that elections will be held and their rights are secure. The 11. 2 million received in funding is welcome, but it was not enough with a 40 million gap with those new challenges for our state importantly that h. E. R. O. E. S. Act will address these effectively, and i urge everyone support in the district of columbia. 41 states voters can vote to by mail. If not, then it is implemented with various degrees of effectiveness federal funding and standards will be written in my testimony. It goes a long way to help avoid variations in the fall. Voters need clear choices how to close this year, and states need clear guidance and support for providing those choices. This need is acute and to be disenfranchised communities across the community. It is an additional challenge to overcome. I want to close by sharing a Success Story of michigan. We have had two Success Stories this year. Locally may, we held elections, again, at the height of the pandemic, and demonstrated that even in this moment, safe and secure elections are possible to succeed. We know every registered voter is an application and instruction on how to request the ballot through the mail and vote from home. We also provided a safe option for voters seeking to cast their ballots in person on election day could we aggressively recruited new election workers to ensure no one had to work on election if they felt uncomfortable doing so, and we provided every jurisdiction with ppe, masks, gloves, etc. , and insured clear and explicit protocols how to have 6 feet of distance between election workers and voters. They could choose to safely exercise their vote. That turnout was double and 99 percent of voters who participated in the may election chose to vote from home. There were no crowds in polling places, there were no long lines, and their water is zero reports of fraud. The success demonstrated it is possible proper planning, policy education, resources to ensure elections this fall are safe and accurate and secure. Recent decision to narrow every registered voter application on how to vote by mail at the august primary in the november general election. Democracy can survive the pandemic, but we need all of your help, we need all of us working together across party lines and we need investment and support. Thank you. Thank you, secretary, and thank you for condensing your remarks in interest of time. We will have questions for you. Our next witness is ms. Stacey abrams. She is founder and chair of verified action and organization dedicated to advancing Voting Rights and Electoral Reform the , the democratic nominee for the state of georgia the first africanamerican woman nominated by major party as nominee for governor. Prior to running for governor, the General Assembly from 2007 to 2017 and also the House Minority leader of 2010 to 2017. She became the first woman in the georgia General Assembly. Africanamerican leader of a party in the state house of representatives. Frombrams received her jd yale law school, university of texas in austin, and her b. A. Magna cum laude from spelman and college. Ms. Abrams has another commitment at noon, so we have to stick to our time limits. Ms. Abrams, thank you, and you are recognized for five minutes. Ms. Abrams thank you, chairman raskin, andchairman Ranking Member johnson the members of the committee. I come before you today as a Voting Rights advocate and founder of verified action an american deeply concerned of the challenges facing our democracy particular in the era of covid19. Furthermore, i would do a disservice to millions of americans if we did not acknowledge the anger and anguish that we put together our demands for justice and the right to choose our leaders and through them the policies that govern us through the profound power of right to vote across the nation we face a Public Health crisis, Economic Disaster disaster, continue distrust in the Justice System in a coordinated assault on access to democracy. Congressional action has been vital to respond to the pandemic but the right to vote will determine how the recovery and systemic justice are achieved. Financially exhausted states are reliant on a contact at the federal government with mutual aid in times and catastrophic events, to expand vote by mail, to place critical guardrails on access, educate voters on the options, and to increase the safety of inperson voting our. Our obligation is to find these changes. I appreciate what the house is has done to acknowledge the fundamental obligation, and i urge the Senate Colleagues to take immediate action to pass the h. E. R. O. E. S. Act. I was born in madison, Wisconsin April 7. I watched with a cautionary tale as their election took place. None of us should forget the images of those shivering in long lines in the inperson polling location 71 known cases of coronavirus was the result of that election. It is clear and uncontroverted polling places was a risk for coworkers. Poll workers. Wrist their lives to function during the pandemic. The first obligation is to reduce the number of voters who cast ballots in person on election day. All states have the current capacity. We must remove unnecessary barriers to the patient and scale infrastructure to have widespread use safe and tested and method of balance. The American People want expanded access to vote by mail margin, despite the false reports voter fraud is extremely rare. The New York Times noted after 20 years that is infinitesimal. 0001 incident rate of fraud looking at the nation as a whole and in 2016, more than half of the states reported zero substantiated allegations of voter fraud and other eight states had nine and the others had a minimum number not sufficient to alter the outcome of the election. Recent results show that voting by mail offers Neither Party a partisan advantage. This is a fundamental truth the. The election should not be partisan. They should be cast along party lines of the process to determine. Leadership should not be leaders from. Both parties should want higher participation in our democracy regardless of who wins. America does best when we acknowledge our challenges and prepare for success to promote the Public Health and participation to expand access to vote by mail with uniform guidelines, so where we live in the country will not diminish our right to participate. Thank you for the opportunity and i urge you to take access to , protect our democracy. Rep. Cohen thank you, ms. Abrams. J. Christiant is adams. Mr. Adams is president and general counsel of the Public Interest south asia and worked in the voting section of the department of justice and serving as general counsel to the South Carolina secretary of state receiving law degree from , South Carolina school of law. He is recognized for five minutes. Mr. Adams thank you, mr. Chairman, Ranking Members of the committee. Thank you for the invitation today. I the president and general am counsel of the legal foundation, a nonpartisan charity devoted to promoting Election Integrity and best practices for Election Officials. We found numerous failures, and we note from several data voting by mail is the most vulnerable form of voting for hundreds of thousands of ballots have been rejected for defects and millions more are missing in landfills. The United States is not ready for an Emergency National vote by mail scenario in 2020 and will not be. Putting the election into the hands of the United States Postal Service with numerous problems. First, vote by mail will disenfranchise voters and with the election from transparent places, where observers of both parties can monitor the process to moving it behind closed doors where the vulnerable and , powerless are influenced by third parties. I have attached to my testimony Court Opinion from the district of minnesota, the United States v. Brown. They can see plainly how vote by mail can abuse the most vulnerable. If you cruise the opinion pages 17 through 21, you will see what ballot harvesting fraud looks like from the inside notably the. Notably the victims were visited in their home by politically connected vote harvesters that cast their ballots, not the voters. Election should be an open and transparent places, where the vulnerable can be protected trying to cast a ballot for them. Vote by mail has logistical problems. Problems the entire system was designed for in person voting we saw the failures yesterday in elections across the country and here in d. C. , where tens of thousands of people did not return their ballot, because they did not get them in the mail. State Election Officials in the u. S. Justice department have been besieged by phone calls and complaints the last few weeks about ballots never arriving. We do not have the administrative infrastructure to ensure a clean automatic mail election based on current risk. Finally, we found in pittsburgh the people are not only registered twice or three times. One was registered seven active simultaneous times by written testimony shows the seven separate records for the same person. He was registered to vote seven times by an outofstate thirdparty group in the weeks before the election under the automatic vote by mail plan that person would get seven ballots. Thank you very much for your time and attention on this important matter. Thank you, mr. Adams. The next witness is ms. Myrna perez, the director of the Brennan Center for justice at the school of law. , chairman nadlers district, and went to Columbia Law School and also at nyu school of politics, also in mr. Nadlers district receiving a law degree , from columbia university, the Public Policy Kennedy School you. You are recognized for five minutes. Ms. Perez thank you for having me. In this time of reckoning for the country, i briefly map out five critical needs each state must address to assure no voters left behind during this pandemic. Testimony provides more details and a resource appendix the single most important thing that members of this committee can do to protect our elections is to play your part to get state and local administrators additional financial resources. First sameday registration opportunities the moment we are in now makes it plain the democracy works best we are all heard at this time impasse. President ial election years we see an increase of Voter Registration rates. We are not seeing that now, and this is a surprise. Government agencies providing Voter Registration are those that register voters are unable to do in person outreach. Accordingly, the states that dont have online registration should provide that and should be at capacity. All online registration systems should account for the fact some americans do not have id son. D. Some have disabilities and some who conduct important business in another language. Also the Digital Divide is real, so all americans have more options. All must have the option to vote by mail. Or mail voting that options should be available to every eligible american so no one has expose themselves or others to the coronavirus. Americans from all walks of life and to vote by mail we know this because of the polls and the increase request for a mail ballots vote by mail is necessary insecure and sensible option, especially now at the november election of course some witnesses will make a out of the rear instances of abuse but there is zero dispute appropriate safeguards should be in place, and there are. In fact, there are multiple layers of security for each ballot. Thats why the instances of fraud are so rare. We must provide safe and person third, voting options. No one has been talking about only mail elections. Even if more voters vote by mail this november, the country is still going to need an adequate number of polling places they. Why . Polling places are failsafe to the glitches. Some americans are very deeply attached to it person voting. Some voters have impairments that make in person voting a necessity. Finally, some voters have mail address issues or problems with a reliable mail service. States and localities should offer sufficient hours of early voting. Early voting. Polling places should be in venues suited to comply with that distancing poll workers need ppe with those paper ballots and we must educate voters about the election process. Voter education is more important now than ever because in voting roles and misinformation and disinformation are current. Finally we must be prepared of a , new cybersecurity threat those. Resources that should have been available now have to be diverted to make sure elections happen in we must audit and test november. With the online with those systems that will see greater use. Limitinglly, we risk to ensure that we can trust our results out. Fortunately, in many places, officials of both parties are working on it. We need more of that. I am going to end where i started. For higher needed resources we estimate it will to 4 billion. Alternately, the administration of the november election will depend on large part about elected officials, like yourself, inviting to Election Administrators and voters during this crisis. I am hopeful that members of this committee will model the leadership and commitment our country desperately needs right now on these topics. Thank you. Rep. Cohen thank you, ms. Perez. Our next guest is tom fitton, and please correct me if i am wrong, he is Judicial Watch president. Judicial watch describes itself that those act ethically and do not abuse the powers given by the American Public that this freedom of information act and other public records, engage in civil engagements. Had over 20 years of Public Policy experience. He received a b. A. You are recognized for five minutes. Mr. Fitton thank you, mr. Chairman. As others have said, i appreciate the beginning. Has been tracking this for years. Last year, they asked if americans have confidence and the honestyion and of elections, specifically peer to only 40 said yes. 59 said no. This is not helped by plans who governor newsoms, recently required county Election Officials transmit mail ballots to every voter in the state. I believe this is a real threat to elections. In 2005, there was a bipartisan understanding of voter fraud, and the Baker Commission noted ing isbsentee ballot vulnerable in several ways. And those that might get intercepted. Citizens who vote at home, a workplace, or church are more susceptible to pressure, overt and subtle and they were far , more difficult to detect we mail couldns vote by we are particularly concerned about ballots being mailed to the wrong address. Many registrations are out of date, continuing those who have no longer live at the address, have died, or are no longer eligible to vote. Found 24earch center million active Voter Registrations in the United States will no longer valid or significantly inaccurate. Billions were listed as active voters at that time. I do not think a got much better. Hundreds of u. S. Counties would voter lists containing more registered voters than there were citizens over the age of 18, meaning if the registration for 100 , and looking at that data, we concluded there were at least 2. 5 million extra registrants on our nations voter rolls. Yes, they include both the current and outdated as well as inactive registrations pending removal. Note that inactive registrations can still be voted on on election day. This does not require the voter to use a provisional ballot. Voters just need to show up and use his or her address, and in many states, that can be done through a representation. Worker atr, the poll the listed address, the voter just says yes. At that point, the voter can vote. Havecalgary counties outdated registrations, as i said, in Allegheny County in pennsylvania, nearly 70 names from their list because people had not voted within the legally cycles. Two election they remove them after receiving a warning level. Letter. North carolina, 800,000 actual registrations. We have sued those states to try to clean those rules up. Governor newsoms executive order in california, he is particularly cynical, while he has relied on Emergency Powers to order all mail ballot elections. Ballot harvesting under state law, which means people would be showing up and interacting with people as they gather ballots, increasing, obviously, the likelihood of health issues. The attempt to foist ballot harvesting scheme on americans. Pandemic hashis blown up our economy, it has suppressed our liberties, lets not let it blow up our elections. Rep. Cohen thank you, sir. I appreciate you getting done in time, too. Next up is mr. Dale ho. Is the director of Voting Rights project for the aclu, the americans of american Civil Liberties union. Ofhas active cases in dozens states around the country. He has testified on election issues for the congress and various state legislatures. He is also a professor at in why you school of law. Mr. Ho, thank you. You are recognized for five mess. Nadler, Ranking Member collins, and members of the 1864 ttee, 2016 all in the midst with of the deadliest pandemic ever with 500,000 americans if they. Right to vote. We must follow the cdc recommendations and to minimize direct contact with other people and reduce the location. That is a big challenge. More than 80 million americans voted in person on election day in 2016. More states and areas are shifting to absentee voting than ever. The aclu has actively advocated in more than 30 states and filed 10 lawsuits since it began, including virginia, montana, and South Carolina. My colleagues, in home state ofns tennessee. And then the attorney general recent remarks seek to undermine the American Publics confidence and no excuse, absentee voting, which the majority of states currently offer. Including several represented on this subcommittee. Requirements to allow voters to vote during their primary, including in maine, new hampshire, and west virginia. Following aclu lawsuits, South Carolina did the same. These states are part of a coalition, also red, blue, and purple states, and they show that it is not too late. There are only five states currently refusing to vote absentee. Tennessee, louisiana, texas, mississippi, and missouri. Those in these states, including some constituents of members of this committee, do not have the right should have the same right to vote safely during the pandemic that everyone else does. The safe act, introduced by congressman clyburn and senator for the 5 billion elections administration, including safety at public polling places, no excuse absentee voting. Fore already seeing example, pennsylvania has seen an increase compared to 2016. We need to support and process more mailin ballots than any previous election. Trillions of dollars in spending to respond to the covid19 crisis. The inclusion of the vote save act in any of the covid legislation this year. We must ensure that the Postal Service can do its job. [indiscernible] thank you. Rep. Cohen thank you, mr. Ho. The next witnesses president from the transformative justice coalition. She also served as cochair facilitator for those efforts and the Voting Rights alliance for civil rights due to 2015 and has taught at columbia School University of law and at scripps college. Yes, thank you so much, Ranking Member nadler and all the members of , the subcommittee. With Voter Suppression and in 2011, and now because of the this same era in we had 16 million voters totally confused about when they if they are in hospitals or nursing home or if they have a comorbidity. Threatening to [indiscernible] to recruit, military and former, so we know that these actions of the past and then massive Voter Registration campaigns. I have a do stop such in louisville, pennsylvania, and other states. , would also like to point out that we need to adjust right now a massive Voter Registration campaign. We need to institute massive voter outreach and voter education, and we did not talk about one of the big problems , and that is the problem of interference. Still anow that that is problem and that big tech has not done enough to address that problem, especially facebook. A massive to create Rapid Response system to combat voter misinformation. We also, another thing they happened to mention is that of the 214 million plus registered is called an8. 7 inactive list. If you are on an inactive list, you do not receive a mail and ballot. You will not receive an application. You have got to go through a process to clean up whatever the issue is, and we believe there to be aggressive outreach, 18 Million People in our country who sit on in active lists. We also believe that actually, we know over 18 Million People have been purged over the last several years who have no clue that they have been purged from the voter rolls. They also deserve active outreach. These are in the voter options. Of course, vote by mail is only one option, and it really should mail has several impediments for people of color communities, and i am not going to get into those. Those are laid out in my testimony about what we can do to make sure that those are not barriers. But we also have to have, in addition to early voting, we need driveup voting. One thing nobody talks about, in the states that have modeled vote by mail, they have rep. Cohen we are coming up to five minutes. And that actually concludes my testimony. Thank you so much, mr. Cohen. Rep. Cohen you are welcome. Appearing. Or our final witness is michelle bishop, the disability advocacy specialist. And with those initiatives in the real estate and the nationwide network. Kata brown school and washington hughes. And in sociology. State university of new york. Ms. Bishop, you are now recognized for five minutes. Ms. Bishop thank you for the opportunity to testify today , representing the the National Disability Rights Network to the ndrn this is a nonprofit. , federally mandated advocacy network. , it the threat of covid19 behooves Election Administrators to allow for as many voters as possible to choose voting from home for their own safety as voters. Help from reduced voter turnout in 2020 is unfortunately necessary in order to allow voters to properly distance while allowing for workers to sanitize between the voters. Relax deadlines and request of mail ballots. Now is the time for dr. Noes, octories, and others dr notes, notaries, and others. Those who are immunosuppressed or under quarantine, they must , and goselfisolation to notaries simply to be able to vote. And never have been accessible to voters with disabilities. People with blind or low vision have limited literacy, limited manual dexterity, and other disabilities cannot privately and infinitely marked, verify, and cast a handmarked paper ballot. Of remotee sort ballot marking system allows voters to choose to vot from home. These are widely available and have been used reliably for years for military and overseas voters could win vote by mail is not accessible for voters with disabilities, we ask who are considered most vulnerable under covid19 to be the only voters who take to the polls and face the health risks, while their nondisabled peers have the privilege of voting from their homes. Voting by mail is not and will may never be a panacea. Mail systems are currently ready in jurisdictions across the nation, making a significantly more accessible without fully accessible. As a result, and pursing voting at locations must be possible and follow some sort of control and other federally recommended guidelines for covid19 safety. Early Voting Period and hours for an pursing voting must be extended for hours and days before the election date and allow for social distancing. The number of ballot market devices and other voting stations must be significantly increased at every polling location, and voters should be allowed to vote curbside tiered even in a space where curbside allowed, not currently compliance issues will inevitably arise from the limited ability of polling places. As well as to allow voters a covid19risk to exposure. Many have stepped up to propose legislation to help address these issues, including the h. E. R. O. E. S. Act and the low vote safe act. Ndrn wants to assure accessibility for people with disabilities. Congress must act now to provide the territorial government of the northern Mariana Islands as well as the native americans with disabilities law center, to ensure votes for native americans with disabilities. Extending funding is excluded from the protection and advocacy for Voter Program is a simple and no cost lives late if fixed. Finally congress and the u. S. Department of justice has a Critical Role to ensure that that elections are fair and , safe, accurate, and accessible. To pass those for voter of distribute disability should be protected and enforced to the full capacity. We call them americans with disabilities because they are, first and foremost, americans, and their civil rights, as well as the health of both voters and the health of our democracy, depend on it. Thank you. Ep. Cohen thank you miss abrams, thank you for joining us today. Youll the challenges that and other witnesses described in carrying out the election this november, what worries you most . Is it intentional Voter Suppression or sheer incompetence or some combination of the two . Ms. Abrams . Thank you, mr. Chairman. Three forms can you register and stay on the rolls, can you access the ballot, and can you get your ballot counted . Voter registration remains a challenge as does voter purging , based on false information and language,se your incompetence, often, that removes people from the roles unnecessarily. But what we also have to focus on is the ability to cast a ballot, as ms. Bishop pointed have one method of casting their ballot, because of disability, language barriers, homelessness, due to foreclosures, covid19, or because they are unable to participate otherwise in the process of voting by mail. They need to go in person. So my deep worry is because we focus on one or the other, to the exclusion of one of those processes, we do not use the full toolbox at our disposal, and we invalidate the opportunity to vote. I would like to point out to the committee that south korea, which began experiencing at the covid19 at the exact same time as the United States managed to , scale up the National Election on april 15. That is the single highest voter turnout in 15 years. They did that through vote by mail and vote in person. That is why the cripple nature of the critical nature of the h. E. R. O. E. S. Act, we find the existing capacity. 34 states vote by mail already. A vote by mail with no excuses. 16 require excuses as mr. Ho pointed out, home a handful of states right now are refusing to 2 provided excuse. But if we do all three, in person voting early, in person on election day, vote by mail, then we will not face the questions of the incompetence, and allow them to utilize methodology. Set ms. En thank you, abrams. And your mind,n, is this a partisan issue sec. Benson thank you for the question and the opportunity to clarify exactly what we did in michigan. One, we feel that educating voters in the midst of this pandemic is exactly the job of secretaries of state. What i did in michigan, as several of my colleagues in west virginia, iowa, nebraska, and georgia have also done, is toply mail an application every registered voter, for them to request a vote by mail and receive a ballot through the our augustust, in primary, and in our november elections. It is something that in particular have been called for by the voters i serve and vote for in their effort to amend our constitution, 2018, to have a right to vote by mail for every citizen in our state. In my view, this is not nearly a partisan issue and certainly should not be one. The responsibility and authority that secretaries of state have to educate and inform citizens about their rights, particularly in this time of great uncertainty, and give them the clarity as to how they can exercise who they vote for, is critical. And i also want to mention two things come if i can, because there is a lot of misinformation also about what happens when you get an application and white is so different from getting a ballot and application simply enables the voter to both affirmatively request that they would like to vote by mail and also confirm their identity when they do so. It enables us to clarify and clean our list in a way that ensures that we are accurately delivering vote by mail to our citizens who are rightfully registered to vote and addressing issue that this may arise, that there are voters who may be recently this is to our on our list that we can learn about and take steps to remove. So the other piece of this is our effort in michigan has actually enabled us to increase thiscohen let me ask you have any republicans complained about the result of the election, claimed that it was fraud . It was mentioned that the ballot officeot get the post could not get the ballot delivered on time. Can they make it and still vote in person . Sec. Benson yes, we can track if ballots have been received command we are implementing a tracking system, so that voters can retrieve interactive ballots ahead, vote for whatever reason, if you do not receive or have chosen not to return your ballot, you will always have in michigan the option to show up in person, the window of your ballot, if you have it, and then vote in person. Rep. Cohen thank you. Mr. Ho, with my time running electionmentioned jurisdiction. What are some of the dangers . Thank you for that, chairman cohen. I am not sure what your question is. Rep. Cohen one of the problems in tennessee, successful, unsuccessful, of having these issues by the legislature. Mr. Ho that is for the kind of issues to be resolved an advance of the election, to give election authorities the time that they need to prepare. I think that is obviously the ideal way to do it. Where a legislature wont do that. So in your home state of tennessee, there is no choice. If we want voters to have the option, the choice, when they are exercising the right to vote, we have no choice but to go to court, and that hearing is underway right now as i speak. Rep. Cohen thank you. My time is up, and i would now like to recognize mr. Johnson for five minutes. Rep. Johnson thank you, mr. Chairman. I will get right to it. The first question is for mr. Fitton. In may, the house passed the h. E. R. O. E. S. Act. One of the proposals, as we know, as ballot harvesting. That is still a term unfamiliar to a lot of americans who have not experienced that. Can you briefly explain what ballot harvesting is and why it is so susceptible to fraud . Mr. Fitton well, ballot harvesting, the way critics have described it, such as Judicial Watch, is for strangers to go around and collect ballots and then allegedly deliver them to polling places or locations where ballots are collected. In california, they have an extreme version of alec harvesting that has virtually no regulation about who can do it, whether they can select someone based on whether they are democrats or republicans. They dont have real checks in place to make sure ballots are delivered, and when you have thirdparty strangers going around collecting ballots, that is a recipe for voter intimidation. It is one thing to allow in emergency circumstances a terribly, for instance, infirm person to have their spouse deliver a ballot for them. It is far different to have Party Operatives and interested third parties roaming the streets, knocking on doors, and demanding or, quote, asking for ballots. It is voter intimidation, and that is why it is largely banned across the country. What happenedose in North Carolina with that ballot harvesting fraud, but of course ballot harvesting was illegal in North Carolina, and you can see why, because of the temptation for product. So this bill that is out there, as best i can tell, what nationalized this ballot harvesting scheme, upend the voting laws in terms of voter i. D. In 35 states, and undermine the security to the extent it is available or has been implement it in the few states that are pursuing it, on absentee ballots. Talk about causing chaos on election day, to do this so close to election day is just irresponsible, in my view. Rep. Johnson thank you very much. Mr. Adams, democrats have also proposed that states, in election in an area in which an emergency or disaster is declared, may automatically have absentee ballots to register voters in that area. Your organization found 240 counties banning 29 states, in addition to the district of columbia, had that over 100 of the population of your how might these bloated registration roles lead to increased fraud if states adopt allmale voting . Mr. Adams; right, and we have up the game of the ratio, if you look at my testimony come individuals like Rashawn Slade in pittsburgh are registered seven times. If you have automatic vote mail mail outs, mr. Ranking member, you would have people like slade getting seven ballots to vote in the election. That is not good policy, no matter what the need. Very good. N congress the authority to regulate as we know, but arguably, states are best positioned, and do you agree with that cinema, and if so, what challenges do you proceed if every state is forced to administer an election and the same manner . Well, onesizefitsall is not going to work. You have the baker, Carter Commission announced the example as being the exception to the rule, just because it worked in oregon does not mean it will work in other states. In states where you have populations that we vented out more quickly, you would have tremendous risk to having allmale voter fraud, having these ballots leave the system. The concern is, are the states doing sensible steps to make sure that people are able to vote on election day . Look, what we are hearing about today is a plan that has been in place long before covid, so they are using, and my view, the pretext of the pandemic as an excuse to get a policy proposal that will undermine Election Integrity. Why oppose voter i. D. . Why oppose taking mutual steps to clean up the roles . To me, that is setting up the steel, and the American People have the right, and when i hear about the rare instances of voter fraud, i get frustrated. It is. Your vote that is stolen. It is your vote that is stolen. Rep. Johnson thank you, sir. I yelled back, mr. Chairman. Rep. Cohen our next question er is mr. Nadler. Adler thank you, mr. Chair. Can you explain without suppressing the right to vote, and particularly with mr. Fitton said about ballot harvesting . Sure, i will start with ballot harvesting. It is already illegal. The question is about whether a person can drop off another persons ballot. They are really only limited circumstances in which that is allowed, and generally only by an immediate family member, but importantly, the signature levels, ourultiple confirmation that the only person voting a ballot, returning a ballot, is the voter themselves. That signature takes place, both when the application is returned and he voter requests a ballot to be sent to them. That matches the Voter Registration signature, and then secondly, when the ballot is ultimately returned, the voter must sign the outside of the outlook, and that signature is then matched to all of the other signatures we have on file, and as any expert will tell you, it is significantly harder to forge a signature than it is to create a fake i. D. So in our view, that signature check enables us and this is a timetested method that has taken place for decades to ensure that people are turning ballots are the voters themselves, and, two, if there is any effort to create fraud in the process, that we catch it and we prosecute it swiftly and effectively. [indiscernible] evidence of fraud is infinitesimal in michigan and in other states. Studies have shown, and secondly, in this rare time when this does occur, we catch it and we prosecute it. Rep. Nadler thank you. And secretary benson, attorney general barr said he was concerned about fake mailin ballots to manipulate our election. Experts say this concern is baseless, because they closely track ballots and mail them out in the first place. Doesnt seem to you that a foreign governor could mail fake ballots in michigan . No, it does not. Deeper doubt sow in the integrity of the process, harming voter confidence in the election and efforts, the effort to have misinformation is one of the most important efforts we all need to be engaged in across party lines this year. Rep. Nadler thank you. I am especially troubled the American People institutions of government and our democracy itself. What would you say to potential voters who are word ballots may not be counted or have lost faith that there per dissipation matters . Participation matters. Ms. Abrams thank you, mr. Chairman. We won every voter to cast their ballot and protect their health. One of the challenges facing our nation is a deep suspicion of and weue of every voice, know eight this proportionate number of those in our process are people of color, namely africanamericans. It is a critical moment for us to demonstrate that their access to the ballot will not be impeded because of situations beyond their control. We watched people get sick in wisconsin, standing in long lines, forced to crowd together because of diminished polling places in order to cast a ballot for their future, and we know that the 2020 election is going to necessarily grott dry great deal of attention, because we are not only running a president ial election, we are running an election that will determine everything from district attorneys, county sheriff, legislators, and governors. So we want every american who has the right to vote to know that they have the freedom to do notnd that access will exist if they have limited means and they put their lives at risk in order to cast a ballot. That simply reaffirms the belief that we do not value their humanity, and that is an inappropriate statement for any american to make, especially political leaders who are charged with ensuring access to our democracy. Rep. Nadler and that is why mailin voting is so crucial. Ms. Abrams absolutely. Mailin voting is part of the process, but, again, there will be some who cannot use mailin voting for it i do not advocate for universal male in balloting. Covidcate for it in the pandemic to allow every eligible american the option to mail in the ballot rather than put themselves at risk because they have no other option. Rep. Nadler thank you, and i yelled back. Rep. Cohen thank you, mr. Tail men. Chairman. I appreciate it. Be mr. Gohmert of texas. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Beginningpreciate the of this meeting. I am honest in saying i appreciate the tenor with which you started this hearing. Express thoughts and press going out for the george floyd family and all of those. It is just tragic, the looting and writing we have seen, especially costing minority businesses their lifes work. A real tragedy, and we need to bring about this same type of feeling that we have had in this hearing. We can disagree but not get violent, not destroy people, or, killed bysakes a protester, and her sisters plea, you know, it was not a cop, it was one of you people, a processors, that kind of stuff. We need to encourage that kind of stuff to stop it i keep hearing in this hearing, though, about concern over the covid19 or the coronavirus, but i have not heard any of our witnesses, for the majority, express their concern about the protests, the writing, and the looting, whereas, in many places, we are not even allowed to go, and we wear a mask, but that is those of us who are trying to be lawabiding. Do you recall the aftermath of the election in 2000, well, 2000, 2 thousand one, who it was that was screaming for election reform, and that every single county, every parish, everybody needed to go to electronic voting, and they pushed the majority, republican majority oro passing a federal law mandating, unfunded mandating, requiring electronic voting. Do you recall that . , i wasnt uh, yes subjected to the outcome in florida. [no audio] the best way to do it is to show up and vote come and to hear inflammatory rhetoric that you are choosing your life over your be nervous people to about voting. That is as oppressive as anything i have heard, telling people they are going to die or likely to die if they vote. We can see that people will exercise their First Amendment right if they think it is important, voting is important, and they should be able to vote in person, if they are not scared to death about doing it. Rep. Gohmert well, we have already heard in this hearing that we watched wisconsin voters getting sick, and that occurred , but they my understanding was wisconsin held ilinvote without the ma mandate command actually they did not see a spike in covid19 cases. Are you familiar with what happened in wisconsin . Mr. Fitton i am unaware of the Public Health impact of voting in person. The covid impact is receding. We know that they concerns about it were largely overblown. If you have true concerns in many states, you can vote by absentee ballots. Frankly, i think absentee ballots or to readily available, but the law is what it is. And this is a solution in search of a problem. If you want to vote by mail, you likely can. People, stop bullying lets start preparing the election, rather than trying to upend the election. Rep. Cohen time has passed. [overlapping discussions] unanimousto ask consent, this is authored by Christian Adams and another, covid19 and ebola what we can learn about the election, i asked that to be added to the record. Rep. Cohen that objection, back to done. And i meant to ask mr. Adams, but i went over on the timeslot. Rep. Cohen thank you. Mr. Raskins next, five minutes. Rep. Raskin thank you very and i wanthairman, to start with a word about mr. Johnson, because i am always carried away by his eloquence, but i was struck today that he began by denouncing the coldblooded murder of george , and he officer chauvin also called correct me if i got it wrong, mr. Johnson he called for transformative solution or systemic change, which is a beautiful phrase that im going to hang onto, whether or not he actually said it, but i think he did. With that, i think i have to depart from my friend from louisiana, because when he started to talk about elections, he lost me. Better on how no to run their elections. Of course that is true, but states also know that is how to steal elections, how to suppress the vote, how to depress the vote, and how do disenfranchise African Americans and racial minorities. This is no time to upend elections in america my friend, the elections in america have been upended by the open crisis and we do not have to get into a blame game about whether you think that donald trump has engaged in the most exquisite and Perfect Management of the pandemic in american history, or you think it has been an absolute debacle. Regardless of where you want to pin responsibility, we brought forward more than 500,000 of our people, 2 Million People have been second, 40 Million People have been thrown out of work, and the election has been thrown into disarray, not by any of the secretaries of state, like the wonderful secretary of state we have just seen from michigan, or any of the Voting Rights activists, they have been destroyed by covid19. Ohio had to close 125 polling places, because they were in Retirement Homes or Senior Living centers. We have seen tremendous poll worker shortages across the country, because most poll workers are retirees. They are older americans, and many of them are following the center for disease to go outside, to be in groups. 16 states, including my own, maryland, have had to postpone to their primaries, and when one was vented from doing so, wisconsin, we ended up with 71 cases of covid19 of people who stood in those long lines, wrapped around the block, as they struggle to get into, i think it was, four or five polling places in all of milwaukee. Many, many polling places did not open in the state of wisconsin, because there was nobody to run them. Come on get real come out heretton and say concerns about covid19 are overblown is exhorted to me. I guess no one in his family has covid19. Ted by it is just outrageous. Ho,me start a question, mr. You said something that was really astounding. You said the Republican National committee had sent out a mailer saying that mailin voting is an easy and secure way to vote, and yet the republican witnesses testifying against vote by mail. Did you get that wrong . Are you misquoting them, mr. Hope . Mr. Ho no, it was sent to republic and voters in pennsylvania, which i excited and screenshot in my written testimony, encouraging voters to vote by mail, still writing the fact that everyone intends a vignette can do so, and assuring everyone in pennsylvania can do so, and assuring them it is a secure and convenient way to do so. This is not a partisan issue. People across the political spectrum have no issues absentee voting. Mainly ballot applications to all voters, states like georgia, iowa, nebraska, ohio, west virginia, and most recently, wisconsin. I think everyone understands how americans vote securely and safely in this election. Rep. Raskin thank you kate and if i could get to stacey abrams, picking up on what mr. Ho said, i understand 33 states have vote by mail, voting from home option, that is 66 or two thirds of the state do say that all americans should have a vote by mail option, and if the vast majority of people already have a vote by mail option, where is the opposition coming from . This is just bizarre to me. Ms. Abrams 34 states have no excuse vote by mail, 16 states have vote by mail, so all 16 states plus the district ou of columbia have vote by mail. The challenge is access, or those states that need to scale up who is going to request it. We saw this play out yesterday in pennsylvania, where the number of people requesting to vote by mail, because they can, outstrip the capacity to meet the need. The issue is not that they cant be done, it is that the states require support to make it so, and we need guardrails. Just to address the question, we are not trying to force states to conform in exact ways to the same election, but we are trying to set a floor so what the basic understanding of being able to participate in our democracy looks like in this pandemic. We are setting a four, not a ceiling. Rep. Cohen mr. Raskin, im sorry. Rep. Raskin thank you, mr. Chairman. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I look forward to the time we can do this in person. It is interesting to me, and my friend, mr. Raskin, we have been engaged in rhetorical flourishes for many years now, and it is interesting, but i just went from praising work that we can , the issue ofr police action, which im encouraging our chairman, we are going to have a hearing on that, because what happened in many hapless was nothing but murder, and we have heard in georgia, our society has to come to grips with this, and i think cohen, had a working group on this command im glad to hear that. That is what needs to happen. But todays issue is interesting to me, and i am concerned about the discussion here going forward, because the wording that is used here is something that is bothersome in the sense of less take what actually is happening, lets take mine and me state of ho georgia, and we have been working, unfortunately, georgia, frankly, because some things that have been said about ms. Abrams, about people who were not encouraged to vote, and simply the numbers do not show that there from 2014 2018, africanamericanmale and female , and hispanic 12 Voter Participation has increased 18 to 24 , in our state of georgia. When we look at this and we talk about the no excuse voting, which, again, i go back to and a quick question here, because i have a question, because i know that ms. Abrams is very precise in her wording, and you used in your Opening Statement uncontroverted, and you mean truth and validity, not disputed, correct . That is a question. Ms. Abrams i was attempting to turn my microphone on. I have that problem, too. Ms. Abrams as to the definition of the word uncontroverted, guess, i would agree with your definition. The question came up several times, we keep bringing up wisconsin, get a World Health Organization study says that there is no correlation between rises in covid cases in wisconsin because of the voting. There may have been more than 71 cases, as you said, but there has been no rise overall, and the question is, the determine ethical at the polling place. You said it broke your heart them standing in line, did it also break your heart, because voting professionals chose to limit their voting locations . We need to continue this and thest discussion and question that comes in to my mind here, and i want to go back , there was a discussion. And it has been stated by the chairman earlier, stated by you ms. Abrams, you are being forced to choose them and we just got off the discussion, mr. Ho, how many have no excuse absentee voting . I will agree with you that other people need to be encouraged to vote, and i would encourage that, but my question is, where is the choice to put your life in danger, such as in our home state of georgia, anyone can request an absentee ballot and get it . Is that not just a use of overblown language to say that in states like georgia and others, to make a political point, that we are saying no one can vote . Ms. Abrams, are you going to answer that . Ms. Abrams i will try to address the questions. The number of 71 cases have been directly related to april 7, according to the wisconsin state journal, which is in my testimony. Thatr two, no one has said it has created an overwhelming case, but that has been concentrated based on what is before us. Notncontroverted means disputed you are a fabulous attorney. Ive known you for a long time. Someone will use it against me. But im going to say this. You understand that april 7 is all 71rt date for to receive the virus at that time, that is probably not a provable statement, and to keep stating it as a provable fact is not being side. T, the democratic thank you, chairman. I do welcome the opportunity for this committee to live up to the role it has played in the past to work on civil rights legislation to protect black abuses. S from police going back to voting as it relates to africanamericans in our country, i want to ask ms. Abrams, you are familiar with hr one. In georgia, what with that legislation me for an upcoming Georgia Election considering the voting abuses we have seen in your state in the past . Thank you. Is correlation between increased participation in the absence of suppression. We often see an attempt to respond by increasing presence. Who does not mean everyone intends to participate is allowed to do so. Because more people get into the water that suddenly there are fewer sharks, that is not the correlation we should use. Would provide a number of number one, automatic Voter Registration would solve the problem of exact match, particular for africanamericans in our state. The additional language that permits expanded access across the country, we guarantee voters of color more direct access. Black and brown voters are most likely to have their absentee ballots rejected, subjected to restrictive voter id laws, and there is no contest with the notion of proving who you are. Voter id laws become more and more restrictive, eliminating people. Couldnt provide a birth certificate was disallowed for voting for the first time in more than a decade. That is the challenge that gets addressed. Addressed. We remove the barriers and remain protective of our democracy and expand access to everyone that is eligible to participate. Does voting by mail go as far back as the civil war . It does indeed. Today a soldier in afghanistan that doesnt have a ballot box that they can go and vote at, are they voting by mail . They are indeed. Are there any ballots less secure than vote by mail here at home . They are not. In fact, we have made appropriate mechanisms available at every single state to guarantee access to vote by mail which is by the controversy around expanded access is so perplexing because we have the states that permit it and what they are saying is in the midst of a pandemic that has robbed most states of the Economic Resources they need the federal government a superpower mutual aid should step up to the resources necessary to allow everything to participate in our democracy and that is why we have the United States and why we have this joint relationship between state and federal government. And its worked every cycle for the military. Did you know that last month in californias 25th Congressional District there was a 100 vote by mail where he said it was good to be a fraudulent outcome not only is that true but in the statthat inthe state of utan hundred vote by mail that doesnt privilege one community over another but equal access guarantees that theres equal participation and that should be the goal of the democracy. It is a two to one margin. On the most infinitesimal chance but there ichanceof their theold logistical way to solve the problem particularly because it protects those that have no choice but to vote in person. I want to thank you for allowing me to move the hearing of an hour. She has to leave i believe it is afternoon. To be taken do you have a question . They dont. We will proceed. I want to thank you for your opening remarks and thoughts and prayers with the American People during this difficult time. Its an unprecedented time in the midst of a Global Pandemic citizens are asked to do their civic duty by participating not just in november. Just last month cities and towns in my home state of Virginia Held local elections and not only were they held without incident but in some cases the turnout was higher than in the previous. Its changed how we live our lives in every decision we make the risks of our actions whether it is Grocery Shopping and even now voting as election day approaches it is important. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle would agree with the physical and their proposal to administer because each state is best positioned to run their own and even more concerning the prospect of losing the states ability to address is the potential that it could cause or encourage although i support absentee balloting and recent efforts in virginia to move to a no excuse absentee balloting, i am concerned with some of the proposals. They must find the envelope before turning over. As the commission has noted maintaining accurate Voter Registration is essential to protecting Election Integrity and thats where we have differing standards all around the country. Its been suggested that the states when an election is held automatically mail them to the voters do you have any concerns with that proposal absenc absent updating the Voter Registration roll . They are removing up to 1. 6 million names and the mouse was found 13 counties totaling over 1 million extra names so in theory all those folks would get ballots because they are still registered to vote. The plant aside from its locality whether there was the authority to do it is bad policy. I understand we need to be prepared for a potential surge but its the wrong way to vote. The best way to ensure that is to go vote in person and we have these concerns. How does that comport with this posh for the bailout harvesting which is illegal everywhere. If these people go around and take ballots from people. This is the old adage never let a crisis go to waste. They can vote in person, they can pursue the mailin ballots as appropriate that we should be encouraging people to vote in person that is the best way to be sure that the votes are secure and counted. Thank you. In the interest of time i would yield back. Ms. Sheila jackson lee has a question for ms. Abrams if she could ask briefly. Thank you very much. Ms. Abrams, thank you very much. How important is it to ensure any mailin Ballot Program that individuals have received about ten desire to vote in person but there is protection for those individuals . Was i heard . [inaudible] im sorry to the congressmen i didnt see your request until after we got started. [inaudible] im honored to be able to participate in this First Virtual hearing by the house Judiciary Committee. Its so important that congress be able to conduct its essential business to the American People at the time when one of the most essential things that we can do is to limit the spread of covid19 and protect those whose physical presence is essential while maintaining social distancing whenever we can. And of course an obvious parallel between the virtual hearing and one of the central topics of discussion today which is the Important Role of the voting by mail to allow voters to exercise their Constitutional Rights while maintaining social distancing during the Public Health emergency. I represent pennsylvania and it has been noted by several speakers we had our primary election yesterday. Last year the Pennsylvania Legislature overwhelmingly passed voting reforms including no excuse mailing ballots and did so on a strong bipartisan basis 70 of both. Yesterday was the first opportunity for voters to use the system and there is no denying that there were some challenges in implementing its largely because of the covid19 epidemic which has killed more than 6,000 pennsylvanians already. We had almost 2 million pennsylvanians apply for a mailin ballot. And while this is presenting its logistical challenges, by and large, it ran smoothly and we will keep working together state, local and federal to improve the process. One thing that was absolutely clear is the need for Additional Resources for scanning, printing and processing the ballot. One of the biggest issues we had was the staffing given the disparate impact on the seniors that we typically rely on at the polling places. Many had to be consolidated so i got a message from a friend working yesterday who was really shocked by how many people refuse to vote by mail and instead plugged the polling places because they heard the president s derogatory statements about voting by mail. He said shes concerned the lack of adequate voting is going to trigger another wave of coronavirus and we just came out of the peak and would like to avoid another one. It was interesting last week on my way back from our voting session in dc i heard the republican secretary of state in washington share her statement with the mailin voting in an interview entitled lessons to learn from Washington State decadelong experiences and i would ask unanimous consent to enter the transcript into the record. Without objection it will be done. Thank you. I want to turn to the issue of disability voting. Ms. Bishop, even under normal circumstances, without a pandemic, the voting systems are often inaccessible for individuals with disabilities and i introduced the Voting Rights act which was included in hr one to try to get the state and federal officials to invest in the voting where accessible. We talk a lot today about the importance of the mailin voting as a way to keep safe to detour the polls. Its inherently inaccessible to people with disabilities and i think the most obvious example of that if i were a voter who was blind and went to my polling place and you gave me a paper ballot and a pen and asked me to mark it, i cant do that. If you mail the ballots to my home i dont magically redeem my vision. So they could still inaccessible to me. We have to have options that make the voting accessible to people with disabilities. Electronic delivery of our making it significantly more accessible for people to access both by mail. But it does improve the accessibility that needs more will be able to opt to vote by mail. Any that dont offer will all lead to the expansion right now and make that an option for all voters. Thank you you are recognized for five minutes. Thank you mr. Chairman and thanks for having the hearing. It gives me the opportunity to educate people on how we do things in north dakota and i think i would start by saying there are no federal elections. Theres only local elections and federal elected officials and i know that because north dakota has probably the easiest voting in the entire country. We have no Voter Registration. We have 30 day residency requirement and allow them to vote when they are out of prison and we are proud of all of those things and i think that is one of the problems i have and just to be clear it was easy for us to set up because we have a number already that are almost exclusively vote by mail. But as it is always the case when we try to do these things from a federal level when we are attempting to solve it will cause problems in places like mine. Requiring 20 days early voting in a county with 700 people doesnt make any sense and in fact weve spent many year we hn different counties into different jurisdictions to get this right. And then we have places that shorten it up outside of business hours. The other thing we do with all absentee and early voting is required but its postmarked the day before the election. They want to know the result on election day. But other things that exist in all of the different proposals that make it difficult, mandating that when a declared emergency that is automatically vote by mail is pretty interesting for us. What most people call weather emergencies we usually call tuesday. Varying degrees in some place or another within our state, there is a federally declared emergency whether it is for drought, flood, blizzard, all those different things. These proposals are lenient voter id because we dont have the Voter Registration. It would be contrary to north dakota state law and there is a conflict with all of those different things. But as we spend so much time talking about how we deal with Voter Registration and the different issues involved in that, again, north dakota doesnt have it so we deal with different things. I have to say even as we are doing this right now in dakota, you want your population to have confidence in the voting proce process. And in our secretary of states effort which i applaud to ensure everybody has the opportunity to vote i would also say that if more than three fourths of the ballot that have been requested by absentee voting in north dakota are returned, this will be the highest voter turnout in the history. I anticipate that probably will not be the case. It will probably be closer to or slightly above average, but when we do this, we are seeing these sent to their hous house when ty havent lived there for three generations. Me to continue twe need to ce forward. I guess my question for come as we nationalize these things forr states like north dakota we would have to completely revamp how we do our voting and in our case it would be more restrictive, not less. The wall that secures the vote most americans support the voter id in significant numbers both republican and democrat. This is a noncontroversial issue other than some hardcore activists on one side who oppose the voter id using fraudulent numbers and reasons for doing so did we want people to be safe and secure. Speak you those are the two. Next is ms. Dean for five minutes. Thank you mr. Chairman and i thank you and the Ranking Member for your opening to the hearing on the subcommittee and im pleased to be a part of it and i am mindful of the extraordinary difficulty of the country and in the world. Im going to start with my first question if i may, for the secretary of state. As my friend and colleague pointed out yesterday its delayed due to the pandemic it was a test to see how prepared we are in managing for the november election. Its time for every state. We are figuring things out as we go and there are going to be problems. The problem is 161,000 votes in my county and Montgomery County applied for the ballots. Its the first time that we have had that opportunity. The estimated perhaps maybe 20 or 30,000 based on the absentee ballots so instead a whopping 161,000 who seek a mailin ballot. Some of the problems that we have experienced is that for some it went out by market mail instead of being marked priority mail. Those that are not familiar it is the same type of postage that with the fan mail, delaying its delivery as long as ten to 14 days if not more. Some of my own constituents including a member of my staff didnt get their ballots in time even though they had timeservers of problems we can expect and that is just one important point. Mr. Secretary, from your experience as you pointed out printing more ballots cost money. Ensuring the polling places are safe and well equipped cost money. Postal service is on the front line and Needs Resources and our local and state governments need our federal support. As the official responsible for administering your state election in what areas or issues have you felt that lack of resources . Thank you for the question and for pointing out what we have learned here in michigan which is theres a solutio thero address a lot of these concerns out there but its hard to adopt a system in a system that is predominantly voting by mail quickly and we were able to do that in michigan in 2018 it was to have the right to vote by mail and so like many other states we saw an influx in our primary and anticipate another in the fall with people voting by mail. But the benefit that we in pennsylvania and other states have is the states like colorado and washington as mentioned earlier, oregon, and even to a certain extent, california have been doing this work and its allowed to vote by mail robust systems for decades. So, we have the opportunity to learn bot from their mistakes ad best practices and with appropriate resources to import a lot of the systems theyve developed, the technology that theyve used the power that is necessary as well and tools needed, what their options are and the challenges if they dont receive a ballot on time which for many different variables cannot occur. Its enabling us to participate and solve the problems and if those provided. Not only for the state and local governments but also the Postal Service which i will continue to fight for. I know we all will. You begin your Opening Statement talking about some of the particular challenges of the communities of color or economically disadvantaged communities. Can you point out some of the difficulties in making sure folks have full access . The difficulties are both extended by the resources and the historical disconnect from that government officials and system that are meant to serve and protect the residents. We are fighting decades and generations as we are seeing across the country now we need to do more to better serve the communities of color and also it underscores the ballot box and its why this has been at the heart of my work and so many others recognizing its been mentioned in different ways there is no onesizefitsall approach to ensure each one is counted and heard. It takes everyone working together at the local and state level, other voices, trusted voices to educate voters about the rights and make sure they know the choices. It takes officials and administrators to meet the voters where they are at and also all of us fighting back against particularly [inaudible] about the rights and access now more than ever. All resources and everyone in the hearing committee, everyone in washington as a platform they can offer to dispel the myths and counter the efforts and facts about the realities we are doing and so i think that is why this is important for those resources. I think our time is up. Thank you very much. Our next question will be ms. Garcia. Thank you mr. Chairman and thank you to the Ranking Member. The comments that you made opening up the hearing were not only thoughtful but another reminder of what has shaken our country to its core with the tragic death of george floyd. Im a person of faith. From an early age by family taught me that we are all gods children. Certainly george floyd wasnt treated as a child of god which he is. A color should determine the justice they deceived. Shouldnt permit access to the ballot box but you get. Recently the Texas Supreme Court ruled that a voter fears contracting covid19, this doesnt qualify as a disability. It is confusing in the effort to those requesting a mailin ballot. Nevertheless, the decision also made it clear voters can apply for a mailin ballot if they believe they are at risk significantly. Mr. Chairman, the Supreme Court issued its decision virtually, presumably from home or their offices because they considered the concern for their own wellbeing and for their own health. So, why should they hold the same standard for the wellbeing of all texas voters . This isnt a time for political gain. We shouldnt be misleading voters to choose the difficult and voting. April 2 i wrote a letter to the governor and secretary of state of texas urging them to implement all of the state of texas until the end of this year while preserving in person voting as long as the locations are structured to respond to Public Health concerns. This is what many of us are saying. We are not trying to do away with in person voting we just want to ensure it is safe and healthy for everyone and everyone receives the option of voting by home. We are banking and shopping from home, ordering food from home, we are doing everything from home so frankly i think this sends that we also vote from home. And can vote during this pandemic without any excuse because of fear of the virus. You may remember i am from san antonio. We need to make sure there are minimum standards so it doesnt matter where you live related to the basic ability to cast a ballot in one thing that this has done is to check which states have the policies needed to make sure no voter is left behind i submitted that for the record i recommend you look at that one thing thats interesting about this conversation is that all of the dispute is whether or not we need to have basic minimum standards is one policy question that the other is if you want states and localities to play the role they want to play to make sure no voter is left behind then please give them funding they are asking for funding and telling congress they need more resources. Even if there is a debate there should be no debate among any member of the committee we are all better off the state and local Election Administrators have the resources that they need at this point in the game them having the resources will automatically make elections better and we can do more if there are minimum standards but as a baseline im hoping i hear there is a commonality for wanting to support the lake one state and local Election Administrators i hope the members of this committee do everything they can to make sure the state and local Election Administrators give them the extra 4 million that they need. I do have questions but i will submit later for the record. I did mention it is admitted that thank you. You are next thank you so much mr. Chairman and to all of our panelist mr. Chairman thank you for opening our conversation today to acknowledge what is happening in the world around us right now. Thats why its so confusing to me as the controversy to make it easier for people to be safe and participate in their elections as a reminder the Global Pandemic is taken over 100,000 american lives and counting and in my own county the numbers of deaths keep increasing every day. We know that people are not socially distancing they are putting themselves at risk. There are certain communities and people that are more vulnerable than others. The elderly are more vulnerable of people with Underlying Health conditions. There is a third group thats more vulnerable and its very important we talk about it especially because of whats happening in the country right now. The third group is minority population latinos and africanamericans who were dying it disproportionately higher rates because they are more at risk but i would refer everyone about latino and africanamerican communities that are as vulnerable to covid19 those who live in assisted living facilities. That is how vulnerable we are. We have a fundamental obligation to provide for the hate health and safety and welfare of those who represent. My state of texas is notorious for creating obstacles for voters we rank right up there with Voter Suppression we heard my colleague earlier mr. Armstrong talk about the great work his state is doing and using that as an example as i we should not federalize rules or regulation that explained to the public why we need the federal government to step in with resources and regulation. Thank you for that question. We need to make sure every single american is protected there is so much confusion out there and it makes no sense why it and texas why the category is so limited in the Supreme Court could not give people clarity were to be prosecuted it made zero cents it is unfair and unamerican we should be sure every american has. And with the notarization unfair and unsafe and unamerican. I want to get to one more question before my time is up thank you for your response. You talked about the need to have a hybrid approach so that as many people as possible so that disabled to go in person can you describe to the American Public why its important to take that approach . Thank you for raising this issue again in order to make the elections work for all voters we have to have a broad range of options there is no onesizefitsall neither in person voting or her vote by mail is accessible despite the fact there are several laws that protect that right we have to provide as much as possible if we dont and they cannot choose voting from their home which is privilege but if we dont also make the in person options available and accessible as possible because vote by mail does not work that they cannot cast their ballots so its crucial that we also have in person voting to the greatest extent possible to have a minimum of one machine and then also with the exposure of covid19. Inc. Is a much i yield back. Up next is ms. Jackson lee. Mr. Chairman think its a very much let me add my appreciation for the words of faith you offered at the beginning and thank you for mentioning the murder of our hometown son george floyd we in houston and the nation and appreciate your words let me acknowledge the Ranking Member for expressing the importance of the systemic change occurring as well as the cultural change. Let me ask unanimous consent to place this headline on chronicle houston yesterday that they march in his name 13000 ask unanimous consent. Evidenced is the fact and the messages that came out of that people for change it comes through the power of voting thats why this hearing is so crucial to assess how we ensure in 2020 voting for all american americans. My friends are correct we have had disparate impact of covid19 across the nation and right here we have lost pastors and political activists and people you see every day who happened to be africanamerican. My first question is in light of the fact the president indicated he plans to File Lawsuits against the state that had 1 million ballots and rules of inscriptions as they should to adhere to the democracy of the nation, what should congress put in place and how important is the restoration of section five of the Voting Rights act . Thank you for that question. Obviously we believe it is of critical importance to voters all across this country and i do think its ironic on the one hand critics about congressional efforts to set bail at Safety Standards during a pandemic are at the very same time threatening the authority to stop them from taking actions to facilitate safe and secure voting by mail theres nothing to fear from helping americans vote. And to assure that protection. To set those minimum standards should do its best to make sure those state efforts are not interfered with but to make one point clear even if congress was none of those we will see a Record Number of ballots cast by mail in this election because the majority state allows for absentee voting is five times that the number. Thank you. Let me ask ms. Bishop i am in total support of expanding the opportunities of voters with disabilities. What i have seen violated is the rights of the voter to come to the pool with curbside voting i want to make sure that is never undermined and then safely with covid19 so help us understand how important that is and also a specific question on the voting we know the people impacted negatively happens to be africanamericans for many cultural reasons the ballot may come, they dont use it then they are punished so think how we have to protect minorities as it relates to voting if you would answer in particular the curbside voting i want to focus on. Curbside voting is largely misunderstood. It is a critical fact. Even outside of the context of a Global Pandemic, we have not yet made American Polling places accessible to those with disabilities the gao stat on study this in 2016 and in terms of architecture wide enough doorways, parking, less than half of americas polling places were except on accessible only 40 percent and that is the alltime high so thats almost half the best we have ever done so we have to fix that and until we can to allow people to vote curbside to make sure they can still cast their ballot so curbside voting is a critical measure and to be in the context of the pandemic itself to reduce your particular exposure. And so to address the same question. And the applications. And 30 percent. They have real applications and thats another problem and strongly and ballots election. And the expanded options. About to outreach the black people and educate them and those that are registered voters. We have to wrap up. Thank you. And for your words of comfort to the country. Im sorry about the loss of your constituents. This concludes todays hearing it has been diminished for years with the original sense that constitution and the access to voting by mail missouri and mississippi louisiana and all those that have slavery and to think my witnesses to get five legislative days for additional materials for the record and thank you to the republicans and for the week, the house and senate will hold hearings. Cspan, eugenen the carestifies on act and the role of Unemployment Insurance during the pandemic. , the house Judiciary Committee hearing on policing practices and Law Enforcement accountability. On cspan3, Steve Mnuchin testifies before the Senate Small Business committee on the implementation of title one of the cares act. Watch this week alive tuesday and wednesday on cspan and cspan3, cspan. Org, or listen live on the free cspan radio app. Protests are now taking place across the country for Police Reforms after the death of george floyd in minneapolis while an officer was kneeling on his neck. This is the ninth day of demonstrations in washington, d. C. , this one by the white house, also in capitol hill as crowds passed by the Office Building on constitution avenue. A number of roads have been closed, limiting the routes protesters could take. Here is a live look of what is happening near the white house. St. Johns Episcopal Church is where President Trump held that the bible. In front of that is lafayette park, across the street from the white house, now closed to the public. Announcer with the recent live,t unfolding, watch unfiltered coverage of the governments response with briefing from the white house, and mayorsvernors across the nation updating the situation. Addressing the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and campaign 2020. Join in the conversation every day on washington journal. If you missed our live coverage, watch any time on demand at hand. Org or listen on the go with the free cspan radio app. Catholic Arthur Bishop of washington, d. C. Shared his thoughts on the protest across the nation in response to the death of george floyd. He also spoke about why he publicly criticized the president s visit to st. Johns Episcopal Church and the national shrine