Transcripts For CSPAN2 State 20240704

[inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaud Center Fisher i are dealing with votes going on but i called the hearing to order and good afternoon. I would like to thank Ranking Member fisher and her colleagues for joining us. Our witnesses who i will introduce shortly for secr of state issac cramer executive carolina support of Voter Registrations and elections Jimmy Nilsson present director of the Naacp Legal Defense Fund and well hear from her other witnesses because senator fisher will be introducing them including alabama secretary of state wes allen and brian kruse commissioner for the depth county election commission. More americans than ever have cast a ballot in recent elections in large part because of the work of state and local officials in these elections have run smoothly and top Security Officials in both republican and democratic administrations alike have elections including last weeks primaryec elections. 18 states have a ready held primaries this year in fact we have our witnesses secretary bentsen secretary allen and mr. Cramer have overseen primary elections this year already and there are many more to go before the general election in november including three states georgia miss which voters are casting ballots today. With voting already underway we we are here to discuss the key issues facing the state and local Election Officials on the front lines of our democracy. One area of particular urgency is Artificial Intelligence. We have already seen how ai can be used to spread disinformation elections like the fake robocalls using the president s voice telling people not to vote in New Hampshire which is now under investigation by the states Republican Attorney general. We must work across the aisle to protect our elections from these threats and all of the witnesses at our hearing last fall to agree we need to put guardrails emplaced whenes to ai. That is why im leading a bipartisan bill with senators hawley kunz collins and we have been joined by senator with broad support from both sides of the aisle to prohibit fraudulent ai generated deepfakes in our elections. We do this within the framework of the constitution. We are concerned about what we have seen and the ads and videos that attack candidates on both sides of the aisle but they are complete and not the actual candidate. We n also need to in addition to banning deepfakes we need t does haveee disclaimers when you ai is used in you ai is used in other ways. Last week introduced a bipartisan bill with senator lisa murkoki to require transparency and adds substantially generated by ai so whether you are republican or democrat the ads they see are making use of this technology. We have gotten guidance from the hearing we had earlier last year and that we dont want those lae thing when ai is used so we have to find that in a way that i think will pass the muster and make it easier that bill and i cant emphasize how important it is that belief to pass the deepfakes bill. Finally sensei i can make it so much easier to spread disinformation about things like Voter Registration deadlines or polling locationscalled chat gpt or wrote in a question i should say and asked what about this polling place in bloomington . They often have clients or should they vote and it answered in the making up the numbers. 123ounce tree. It even exists. Clearly they have work to do so we have concern about that as well. We must tackle these issues headon. One way is to what senator collins and her do is to allow the guidelines so Election Officials are prepared to meet these challenges. Six states including my state of minnesota and secretary b of michigan have passed new laws to address ai and elections in more than three dozen states have bills pending both red and blue states. We cannot rely on a patchwork of and Congress Must act. Election workers including volunteers continue to face a barrage of threats and intimidation. We have heard testimony from officials from both parties about threats targeting them and their families. Its no surprise that a survey last year found nearly one in three Election Officials said that theyve been abused or harassed or threatened and one in five said they know someone who lostt their job jobs due to safety concerns but but this has a real impact on how elections are run including efforts to recruit poll workers and volunteers. Last november more than a dozen anonymous letters containing fentanyl were sent to offices net leased six states leading to evacuations. That is where senator fischer and i called on the Justice Department to prioritize investigating these incidents and why senator durbin and 26 protect the election workers but its critical that state and local governments have reliable infrastructure with new technology to com Election Security is truly National Security in these investments to be prioritized as the intel agencies continue to warn about foreign adversaries try to influence our elections. Ive heard from officials in red, blue and purple states about the need to get steady funding when it comes to elections. Finally i will note in many states voters continue to face new laws that will make it hard to vote. We had a major hearing on that this morning in the judiciary committee. With senator warnock launching thee hearing to talk about the john lewis Voting Rights bill. We also need basic federal standards like those contained in the freedom to vote act that i lead along with many of my colleagues including the democrats on this committee. I will not give up until these bills become the law of the land because they believe we truly need to have federal Voting Rights protection for the citizens of this country. I want to thank our witnesses for being here and i look forward to hearing your testimony about her work yearround to prepare for our elections. I will now turn it over to Ranking Member bishop. After nick thank you chairwomen klobuchar for holding this hearing and thank you to all of our where the search for being here today. W today while three states conduct super tuesday will hear from state and local t Election Officials from across the country about one of the most fundamental aspects ofos our democracy. The administration a free and fair elections. We e look forward to learning about howoo across the country are preparing for the upcoming elections. Election day is not just a day when voter ballots. It is also the culmination of months of preparation by state and local Elections Officials to ensure that every eligible voter can fulfill their civic duty and participate in the democratic process. Nd Election Officials maintain voter rolls identify polling locations, train poll workers and volunteers procure intestate voting equipment, prepare ballots and educatevo the public about the upcoming elections. While every four years they step into a brighter spotlight these hardworking and dedicated individuals address Election Administration challenges for every election regardless of what offices are on the ballot. Pp defending the cybersecurity and physical security of the election infrastructure, Election Officials must recruit and train the next generation ofec poll workers while also retaining experienced poll workers. They also work hard to ensure voter confidence in the electoral process and the ultimatend outcome of the elections. I am interested in hearing from our witnesses how they adapt to the changing landscape to ensure election integrity. I also want to understand not only the challenges of Election Officials and what they face. Whether the existing federal resources are working as intended to ease those challenges. Our Founding Fathers provided administering elections under our constitution. The resulting diversity of election systems is a strength of our democracy. I look forward to a productive discussion and extend my sincere appreciation to our w here today as they are in the midst of preparations for the 2024 elections. Thank you. Thank you very much representativehr fischer. Our first witness is michigan secretary of state Jocelyn Benson and the role she has held since her election in 2018. Previously she served as dean of the state law School Received her bachelors degree from wellesley. Her bachelor from oxford and her law degree at harvard. Our next witness is issac cramer of the board of Voter Registrationrd and elections in South Carolina where he has served for a decade and was appointed executive director in 2021. Hes a graduate of wheaton college. Then we have jenae nelson, welcome again, president and director of the key legal defund. She begann her career as an intern before she was a fulbright scholar in ghana. She returned to lbf and assume the role of president in march of 2022 but she received her patzert degree m from nyu and her law degree from the university of california los angeles. Senator fischer. I thank you madam chair to thank all of our witnesses for being here today. We have put those mr. Brian kruse. Mr. Kruseved as douglas counties election commissioner since 2016. And was recently reappointed for a third term. Ive had the privilege of workingg him to serve nebraskans for many years and im pleased he has come all the way from omaha, nebraska to be with us here today. Thank you. Thank you madam chairman Ranking Member fischer for your continued leadership on this committee. It is a pleasure tors introduce secretary allen today at this hearing. Wes t allen served as alabamas 54 secretary off state secretary of state for he is her states chief election official hired to his Current Office secretary allen nearly a decade in alabama as a probate judge which is the senior electionel official. He was then elected to the Alabama House of representatives where he served as the vice chair of the legislature Constitution Campaign and election committee. I know secretary allen is honored to appear before this committee on his knowledge of matters making it easy to vote in safe and secure elections. Thank you very much. If the witnesses would now please stand and raise their right hand. Do you swear the testimony you swear the testimony you will get before the Committee Shall be the chip, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you god . Thank you. Now proceed and we will recognize each for five minutes for your statement starting with secretaryit benson and i will leave to vote some point so thank you. Secretary benson but think it should klobuchar Ranking Member fischer in the committee is an honor to be joined with you today for this important hearing. In the last eight months we defined the future of our country and our democracy. Is michigan chief election officer that reality is clear to me every day. We look forward to to ensuring her elections are safe and secure and our effort to protect every voter in every election official of lives threatsct and tactics that continue to plague our democracy but its been a challenging few years for a cedar democracy is gettingfirst voter turnout is on the rise. In 2020 we had more citizens both a never before in 2022 michigan led the nation inturnout and citizens are engaged and they are voting. Ig directly leads to higher Voter Participation across the political spectrum in every election. It is the chief elections officer of a battleground states, i know the successes do not tell the whole story. We go into this election cycle expecting bad actors to use misinformation turbocharge through ai to divide, deceived, and deter Voter Participation throughout our country. Im not just teeth fixed. Ai will also make m it easier to mislead voters about the voting process or even conditions at a polling place. Imagine a boater receiving a saying there are long lines at a precinct and not to go or another social media post showing a polling location changing because of flooding all these could be false and all could deter participation. The realities underscore theent in our election. Ais level of speed scale and sophistication thats difficult this difficult agencies to handle on our own. Federal funds help us supports bolster our state Cybersecurity Infrastructure and more Voter Education to address this evolving threat. We also need the department of Homeland Security to be more aggressive and identifying and combating threats and in notifying local officials helping us ensure vot defective election practices. The state level in michigan with ente to require disclaimers and disclosure of advertisements generous ai we made it a crime fort anyone to d distribute ai generated defects. But now we need you to do your part you can protect every voter m from the harmful effects of deceptive ai generated content passing protect election act. Finally cannot have a secure democracy if we do not protect the security of the people who protect our democracy. Our job as election administrator increasingly forces us to endure harassment, false and malicious attacks on our character and threats of all because of lies about our work and our integrity. Morning walks out her neighbor detroit city clerk Janice Winfrey was approached by men who told her you are going to pay dearly for your actions in the selection. Most recently threatened he would be hanged for treason. Tina barton received a voicemail saying a 10 million patriots will surround you when you least expect it she deserved a knife to the throat but these are a few examples misinformation increases so to the threats. We all have a duty to protect people who protect democracy and Michigan State to intimidate Election Officials with specific intent with the officials crime. Election officials are professionals we are nonpartisan we put voters first are firmly committed to ensuring every citizen could have brightly placed face in their vote and in their elections it should be your highest priority to ensure we have the funding the resources and that legal and the Legal Protections to make democracy work for everybody because ensuring our security is to ensuring Election Security. I spent my career defending the right to vote of every eligible citizen. It will not waiver now. Im here to ask you all to share that commitment and help ensure we are protected that our democracy continues to thrive this year end every year. Thank you so m. Yes, maam thank you. Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. Opportunity to speak to Election Security alabama secretary say i serveserves a chief election official and work closely with the probate judges circuit clerks poll workers boards of boregistrars each of the local counties. I took the oath of office i made and made it a top priority to ensure our fair and secure so every eligible voter with confidence there but will be properly counted. Elections are the bedrock of our Constitutional Republic is our cotu duty and to conduct it with integrity and accuracy. On the maintenance of an election and tied it registered voters can choose to participate in elections in alabama fair and secure solid steps. Active legislation that makes it illegal for any voting tabulated to be connected to the internet. All elections must verify their identity with photo identification at his or her polling place. A voter does not have a photo id for voting purposes my office will send someone to the locationon of a choice, even their home to issue them voter id upon request. Elections just this year with the help of the dedicated team of the oretary of state established the voter database. To crosscheck our voter file at the National Master index i maintained by Social Security administration so it went alabama voter dies and another state we are able to identify and remove that individual from our voter file. Quickly removing not onl confidence maintain a more accurate file every state should be able to do this but excessive federal regulations make it more dculty than it shouldre be to access this important information. I was in a state senate can the obstacles to make this informationem available work of the alabama lawhi enforcement agencies through the drivers license and other States National change of address database maintain voter file register alabama voters. Hoover requested other mail forwarded due to moving to a location outside of the state. For the first time our States History we have entered into agreements with each of our border states allowing us to identify people or are registered to vote in alabama and in a border states. Voters who identified as possibly relocating through any of these methods receive a mailer from the county boards of registrar. Asking them for that relocation or update alabama magistrate or information but to date we have identified 109,7009 alabama voters who have have likely relocated outside of the state. Te but unlike deceased voters who got quickly remove them from the alabama voter file. That national Voter Registration act of 1993 also known as and dra mandates we wait for years to make such removal. If i can make a recommendation to this body for your waiting. S mandated by athe fact state to state movers account for 19. 9 of all relocations are put into the census bureau. Anindividuals remain at a voter file in a state in which they no longer live for several including a president ial election for u. S. Senate election Gubernatorial Election to Congressional Elections numerous local elections. Three years is too long. Federal law requires secretary of state to knowingly maintain bloated and accurate voter list amending and dra to shorten for your waiting. Voter confidence decreased bloated voter t files and more accurate files across the country. Again thank you for your time and has been an honor and a privilege to appear before you today. Thank you very much secretary secretary. Mr. Cramer. Chairwoman klobuchar and members of the committee and want to thank you for having me here today im the executive election but also have the privilege of serving as the vice chair of the election subcommittee for the a national counties. As a member of the Election Assistance Commission i cannot overstate the significance of the county perspective in topic involving phil Election Administration where the front line workers responsible for smooth elections nationwide. Responsibility i hold its very personal to me its rooted i mothers dream of becoming a u. S. Citizen when i was a child see or exercise the right to vote but with the permanent mark on my live in kni politics and Election Administration. I am here testifying before you because of her hard work and stand at the threshold of another crucial election cycle its important for us as Election Administrators to draw from the lessons of the past the democracy for the future. We reflect on the preparations for this upcoming year in charlestonnty our concerns are three pivotal needs these are crucial. The security of our polling places adequate funding. The safety and wellbeing of our election w personnel is at the heart of our operational concerns during june 2022 primaries are polling places became battlegrounds for these disruptive elements of democraticor a local group traveled to each polling place on election day they harassed our poll workers they claimed were breaking the t locations they called Law Enforcement to arrest our poll workers. Just to be clear South Carolina law does not allow us to have Law Enforcement and her polling place inn less than been summoned by the majority poll workers. One of the leaders in social media poste this. For all of you on the team tomorrow observing the polls good hunting you know what you are looking for. Their back foot press the attack forward. The enemy he is referring to were his neighbors. Good people who are were trying to carry out the duty their civic duty of the democratic process. And as the lead poll manager return that night many of them expressed to me personally they felt unsafe. I live Charleston County can be a model for other Election Officials across the cou trying to see they can make their pollingthepolling places safe in their voters safe. Our office meets monthly with counter threatly manager local Law Enforcement, Emergency Management public safetyy together we are enhancing our training for active suit shooters how to mitigate disturbance at the polls and how to communicate highly stressful situations. We hosted a first the first ever Election Security workshop last yearar and we created Law Enforcement guide we give to all of her Law Enforcement partners so they know what they do if they get a a call on election day. Charleston countyents to the election process Surveillance Systems and also giving us Access Control mechanisms that mitigate potential threats in our election operations. However i want to say this clear and not everynot every county can make similar investments. Numerous counties in South Carolina rural and urban need an infusion of federal funds to improve the security of their election infrastructure thats very o vital to the security of our election. South carolina is one of severaly states that does not pass grant money to the county level. This needs to change but Congress Needs to give us the funds s to have direct access because we are the ones who run elections day today. This year we have a huge effort to recruit the next effort of poll workers many of them have left if you threats and harassment. To demonstrate its possible they can apply directly for funding to support the health of the College Program Charleston County applied 76000 for innovati programs in the recruiting College Students to serve as poll workers. In addition we created Democracy Program which county employees to serve day poll worker pay on top of ministry of st leader with pay. In 2023 were county employees. Havent trusted public official serviceable workers greatly boost public quote trust in the process. Many of our poll workers when elections were simple they now become more complex the states have never been higherneed congresses help. You can pass under senator klobuchars Election Protection work protection act or other proposals that will strengthen election worker safety. Must impose penalties anyone who would threaten without increased funding counties will continue to see increased resignation struggle seasonal poll workers 70 of election directors have left their post since 2020 why my stillness profession its a simple answer fore me. I believe there are states of america and the freedoms we enjoy im able to serve this a great country by providing the mechanism by which our country was founded. The ability to give everyone a evoice in shaping the future and direction of our country through voting. Election administrators need support of congress now more than ever to protect and fund our elections. Very good, thank you mr. Cramer. Mr. Cruz. Chairwoman klobuchar at Ranking Member fisher. I appreciate the invitation before the committee this a afternoon. Ef minors bring crews on the Douglas Countyner. One of the most important aspects of Election Administration is trust and fairness in conducting and managing elections. In nebraska we have the Gold Standard for election ministration first andad foremost we useaper ballots. Voters receive paper ballot whether it be early voting or election daywh voting. The tabulating machines that count ballots are never connected to the internet or to each other. These machines are used only after numerous preelectiontests throughout campus audit process is conducted manual audit directed by the nebraska secretary States Office. Our office prepares for electionre cycle revealing and updating procedures for each department to ensure early voting request ballot or petition signature is processed according to the statute and using consistent rules and guidelines. When processing thousands ofst records training seasonal staff it is important to ensure correct procedures are being fofollowed. Early voting by mail can be secure and accurate method of voting if administrated properly. For polling place elections nebraskang law majority of voters to choose to vote byy mail prior to each election as ballots cannot automatically descend. Signatures and voter id requirements those are not met about will not be sent upon ballots being returned signatures are checked again. Drop boxes in Douglas County are secure under 24 7 surveillance cameras and emptied each week by two people up to three parties. I encourage voters to use boxes as they are the most direct way to return election mail per the voter places the item in the and election voters picked up. There is no thirdparty involved. Voters in Douglas County have embraced the drop boxes. On average 77 of met ballots boxes. Bolstering Public Confidence in our elections is vital to successful elections. Local Election Officials are theru trusted source forgetting the message out about elections. I am fortunate and grateful a Good Relationship with the local media. Tv, radio and print they assist my office and disseminating information. The bigig test this election cycle is the implementation of voterra id and making sure voters know what is needed both for early voting and election day voting it orderorder for their ballot to be accepted in their voices to be heard. They media is a vital partner of deadlines and other helpful to make the process successful. For instance working with our sfu office or flowchart of id options. D my chief deputy election and myself attended Many Community events and build relations. This have forged trust and have been instrumental for my office incorrectly informing voters of changes related to elections. Unique in the fact we have a state law. The only state which allows for poll workers to berafted similar to jury duty. Douglas county was the only county in nebraska that conducted a draft for many years. Some advantages and increased awareness of the election process less difficulty in workers and a younger workforce with an average age in the mid 50s. The majority of poll workers nationwide are over 60. In conclusion, it is my privilege to serve the voters of Douglas County and an honor to be here representing the 93 county Election Officials in nebraska who work diligently to conduct accurate ei encourage all citizens from coasttocoast to go out when have your voices heard on election day. Thank you for inviting me today and thank you for your time. Thank you very much mr. Cruz. Claire trouble guitar, Ranking Member my name is jenae nelson im president from the naacp Legal Defense and Educational Fund thank you for the opportunity to testify about the state of Voting Rights for black americans bird both on the ground and in the courts. After the urgent need for congressional action to protect and secure the fundamental freedom to vote. My testimony is informed extensive experience over 80 years protecting and advancing Voting Rights for black americans since our founding by Thurgood Marshall in 1940 my testimony is also informed on the ground Election Protectionwork to black voters can cast a ballot and have it counted. Last week was the 59th anniversary of blood plenty sunday. When patriots like john lewis were brutally beaten in selma alabama for simply demanding the right to vote. Their courage and action led to the passage of the Voting Rights act of 1965 and the true start of our multiracial democracy. We need congress to follow in the steps foot soldiers with courage and action today. It has been more than a decade since the decision with the Supreme Court guided the heart of the Voting Rights act in Congress Still has yet to act. But in that decade of congressional inaction states were previously subject to preclearance have aggressively and systematically trampled on Voting Rights especially those of black citizens. Alabama, north carolina, texas and other states with histories of discrimination advanced harsh voting restrictions and days and hours of the shelby decision. I wait Voter Suppression laws followed across thehe country. More recently, the big lie in other myths have stoked a backlash against voters of color. Some states have targeted the support the precise pathways to the pole black voters have used in recent years. Whether it is eliminating or limiting drop boxes in florida early voting in florida but by mail in texas. Ligence is being weaponize to advance of frivolous challenges to registered voters in georgia this is gaining ai as a nation wide strategy to distort the electorate. The increased of ai to turbocharge Disinformation Campaign historically targeted black voters. Was nearly equal in 2012. A decade after shelby black voter turnout now add nearly eight Percentage Points fight white voter turnout. Georgia had the largest Racial Disparity turnout in 2022 point in the last decade. The 2020 redistricting cycle was rife with discrimination. Of the nine states previously subject to preclearance six have faced lawsuits challenging maps for racial discrimination. Federal courts havell found in three of our recent cases alabama South Carolina, and louisiana the states created racially discriminatory congressional maps. So lets be clear el df is fighting in the courts along with their other civil right sisters and brothers we cannot litigate our way out of this problem. But congress can legislate. Black americans are headed into november with a shredded shield. As a result of the Shelby County versus dnc decision the Voting Rights act as a shadow of its former self precisely what we need strong voting r protections and rising authoritarianism has stripped them away the state of Voting Rights for black americans is tenuous. And that is an urgent crisis for democracy and for this congress. Powerful call to action last week state of the Union Address and he nam the specific solutions are reintroduced in bothth chambers. Jon r lewis voting advancement act and the freedom to voteth of which we call on congress to pass. The right to vote preserves every rights that we hold dear its a nonviolent means of viexpressing our will. Protecting the right to vote should not be a matter of partisan politics. It is the duty of all elected officials to honor and protect the sacred act that has enabled them to serve. Thank you and i look forward to your questions. Thank you very much. Senator warner is going to take my spot because he haser to chair of the intel committee. He hasmy some interest in protecting our elections and they will turn it over too Sandra Fisher and go from thank you madam chairman for this incredibly important hearing. I appreciate rpl here im chairman Intelligence Committee. We had the worldwide threats from fbi cia od and i nsa all of our Intelligence Community across the board in Law Enforcement. They indicate and i believe we need more hearings like this in many ways we are less protected as we go into 2024 in terms of the security of our 2020. Thats the pretty stunning factha. The case. I am talking about now interference from foreign line influence. Number one a number of our adversaries have seen how cheap and effective it is to interfere in our elections for the template that was laid out by russian 2016 was literally pennies on then dollar. Th heck of a lot cheaper to use technology to disrupt and undermine with submarines and tanks. Su russia continues and not just in our electionhe world. China has picked up techniques as well. W a series of nations particularly led by russia who realizes interfering in our elections could have dramatic effects on americas in support of ukraine. He number two nature of the Politics Today americans on either end of the political agenda have much lessol faith in many of our institutions. And unfortunately much less faith and the in the integrity of our election system. As the case Martha Martha versus missouri without a ruling in last july. The Supreme Court is reviewing it now and while they put a stay on this it literally prevents voluntary communication between our government and social Media Companies. I remember in the of the 2016 incursion the ceo of Facebook Mark zuckerberg said repeatedly in public the federal government has evidence of russians or other entities being on facebook, please share that with us. Well and a bipartisan fashion led by the Intelligence Committee, shared that information. And i have to say all throughout the Trump Administration in this case he Trump Administration did rights there was a voluntary sharing thatt went backandforth on a regular basis. So if nsa or assist us both found evidence of foreign influence could be shared with the other companies and vice versa. July and literally until two weeks ago there been no communication between the social mere platforms a lot of this disinformation and the government. And finally an end of the panelist talked about this a bit already, as a and the hole in the whole the advent of Artificial Intelligence. Ai brings out a scale and speed tools to interfere misinform distant form. We know about deep fakes in terms of our images and our voices. It can happen at a scale and speed in which i have an appreciation for all the secretaries of state here. There is no way you can keep up with. I feel its critically important that we do a better job in a bipartisan fashion on educating tthe American Public this problem is not gone away part our adversaries wish us we have enough divisions between americans. In terms of our political views that we have argued amongst ourselves and that is appropriate. But to somehow have by foreign ma hine influences incredibly problematic. I know my clock is about out but, secretary benson, if you could just it was a system that was again, by folks from the Trump Administration, but unfortunately states have exited you decided in michigan to comee into that system. Could you befly a address that and thanks to the Ranking Member for housing me to get that that question in. Yes. I want to also address what you were talking about with the threats of misinformation. But, yes michigan has been a member since 2019, and we found it to be the really effective method do collaborate with 24, the current membes as well as washington, d. C. Can to insure, you know, a lot of what my colleague from alabama was talking about with his states systembo thatre able to do collaboratively with states around the country quite effectively increasing the racks city of our voter rolls through what heretofore h most secure and effective bipartisan collaboration of states to protect the integrity of our elections and our Election Administration system has ever seen. It has been victimized by a lot of misinformation, and i actually want to which really underscores how [inaudible] harms the security of our democracy. And as you just said very clearly and one thing were not talking enough about is that our foreign adversaries adversaries to this country have a greater incentive than ever before in this election cycle to spear fear interfere with our election processes. Thel interfere is not through trying the harm our infrastructure. Our elections are secure. We all use patient ballots we all have paper ballots we all have audits to insure every eligible vote and only eligible votes are counted. Where misinformation and foreign l affect if our elections arent just through a. I. But are in multiple, multiscale attempts to fool voters about their rights in an effort to cause confusion and chaos and instill fear, in an effort to deceive voters, to divide us as americans and to deter us from believing in our voice and in our votes. In that effort to combat that a effort we must invest in efforts to educate our citizens, boost trusted messengers fromectors and all parties and collaborate more than we ever have before to insure were marching forward arms locked to oice in this election from efforts to fool them about their voice and about their votes. The federal government must be a partner in that effort, must be a collaborative partner in that effort working with all of us to insure that were recognizing what maligns our election system isnt really left or right its this foreign interference that could cause every citizen in this country to stop believing not just in their institutions of government, but in their own voice. And against that we can all fight proudly i believe and we can be successful if we do it together. Thank you senator warner. As a member of the arm ad Services Committee armed Services Committee im well aware of the malign activities that we see fromf our foreign adversaries. I know that Election Officials also still worry abouttill worry about the increase that we see from cybersecurity threats. And whether threats to the infrastructure itself or government with web sites or Voter Registration databases the poll secretary. Alex eleven, could you allen, could you tell us about how alabama has worked to mitigate potential cybersecurity threats andke whether youve encountered any unique challenges in this process and whether you see some of those threats changing over time as well. Yes maam. Thank you. We work closely with our office of Informational Technology that oversees our statewide agencies and the backbone of our i. T. Department. We have an inhouse i. T. Department as well that we collaborate with these agencies, with the fbi with the dhs quite frequently especially over the last several months getting prepared for the primary that we had last week. And obviously or getting prepared for the runoff coming in certain parts of alabama in april. And then to the general election in november. So we have many conversations on cyber or. Thats one thing we take very seriously. Matter of fact, on Election Night we have someone there from our officegy the statewide office we have someone from our own i. T. Department in our office as returns unofficial returns come in in the evening to make sure if theres ever anything that pops up on our radar, that we are able to answer them very, very quickly to mitigate any kind of potential threats that are out there with us or maybe targeting alabama. So weany platforms to make sure that were ready to fend off any type of Cyber Attacks in alabama. Thank you. Mr. Kruse, what are some of the unique challenges that local Election Officials face in mitigating those cybersecurity threats . If youd turn your mic on. There you go. Sorry. [laughter] you know, the big one i think obviously would be theomeone were t the hack a web site of ours and try and change information or results something of that nature. Also the a. I. Of impersonating myself, you know . Perhaps polling place changes or deadline changes things of of thatat nature. Were fortunate in the f fact that in Douglas County we have a group called dot. Com the douglas ohm omaha technology commission. And its a joint venture. They really are the the experts on technology, cybersecurity and things of that a nature. And so they provide all of that for me. I also do have two gentlemen in inhouse in our election system, a technology department. Theyf created our website they maintain our web with site. So if something were to happen, we hopefully could fix it inhouse fairly quickly. Wet dont contract with a third party for that. We can also change things on it instantlyy using them to gmessages out. You know, i think from the local election official perspective we hear all the time that voters trust their local Election Officials, and we hear a lot that we believe maybe there was fraud or misinformation or something someplace else but not our curse diction. And so really jurisdiction. So really having a your community with your voters and with Media Outlets so when issues doot occur you can contact them and get the correct information out quickly. You had talked about in your Opening Statement about the information that you provide to voters in Douglas County and your Good Relationship with the media. You also mentioned the postif electiondi audit process postelection audit process. Could you talk a little bit about a the benefits of, that these audits provide to the voters in your jurisdiction . Absolutely. So thats administered by the secretar morning after the election the secretary of States Office randomly picks certain precincts and certain races for counties to audit large or counties like myself have three of them. But every counties has at least one in the statewide general and last time we had the three races in the three precincts, the rah races were the races were the congressional race, the governors race and then the sheriffs race. And so we had 2,325 the votes cast amongst the three races in the three precincts. We go get the ballots out of the vaultit down, we literally then hand tally them, mistake sure they match up with what the machine count had been, which they did. We were perfect last time. But then that instills confidence in the voters. Its another level of Check Another level of proof if to show that our machines counting the ballots correctly. To not only the voters, but to the workers who work there as well. Rs who are then great ambassadors for our office. The great. Thank you very much is, thank you, madam chair. Veryy good. Thank you. Secretary benson, as you mentioned many in your testimony, michigan implemented inperson early voting during last months primary. Can you share more information about how you worked with local officials about these and other reforms that expand access to voting and why these efforts are important . H you senator and chairwoman. I am proud if in michigan that both in 2018 and in 22 voters themselves amended our state constitution to implement automatic Voter Registration, election day registration, enhanced autoaudits and protections audits as well as enhanced opportunities for military if and overseas citizens to vote. They also gave every citizen a right to vote from home, a right to have a drop box for 1 for every 15,000 voters in our state that is secure and monitored and checked daily and 9 days of early voting in every statewide election. Our president ial primary if held just last month was the first statewide election in which we held early voting, and we found gamechanger in how citizens have access to cast their ballot not just on election day but inperson voting sundays saturday isesti or two sundays or a full week before election day dramatically increase Voter Engagement and turnout and address the fact that when we look at whos not voting, a lot of the reasons why according to various surveys and data is because of inconvenience. Because they cant get to the polls at aco certain time on a surgeon day but expanding the number of election days we have has dramatically given more citizens opportunities to participate and has given more Democracy Partners opportunities to engage citizens in becoming fully educated and informed voters. Thank you. I mentioned a. I. , and we know that we already have misinformation out there and how viral it can go. Ms. Nelson can you speak brieflyy on how disinformation targets voters to pups suppress is the vote, firm one and how a. I. Would make it even easier for disinformation to go viral. Yes. Disinformation is something that is not new to our election system is, unfortunately. Black voters in particular have been targeted throughout the times theyve enjoyed the right to vote with information that would mislead them as to where to cast a ballot, whether they were eligible. There have been many barriers based on false information. But with a. I. , we see those e. S multiplied efforts multiplied and exacerbated in extremely dangerous ways. For example we look at the Current Practice of doxxing. I mean, thats something that hearkens back to when black people would vote in theim crow era and they would have their names and information broadcast to the community so that they might suffer violent repercussions for exercising their right to vote. Simply today similarly today we see doxxing and peoples information being spread but now at warp speed across the country into the dark web and permeating some of the most dangerous spaces because of technology. And we also see images being used where you have manipulated images ofte voters and communities that misrepresent what what their choices are. Soso its quite dangerous and its hard to detect, can and we learn city need legislation to improve that. We certainly need legislation to improve that. But with we need protection for voters. Very good, thank you. Alonging the same kleins briefly, mr. Kramer, senator collins and i called on the eac to take action following the fake robo if calls in New Hampshire row bow calls. It voted unanimously to row state and local officia to use federal funds to combat a. I. Generated disinformation. Can you talk about efforts from local officials to take this on . Enter yeah, thank you yeah, thank you. I think the first thing is using that example in New Hampshire, we were next in line with the republican primaries sorry, the democrat being the first in the nation. It was are little confusing New Hampshire there. But mr. Kruse was rah ready to [laughter] go ahead. At the end of the day the first thing as election firms we do is plan in getting making sure that our local partners and one thing im very thankful for, we have a counterthreat manager i Charleston County whos monostore to have monitoring all the threats coming in and using that information to then inform our Decision Making process. Get everybody onboard with this. S. One of the things with elections, we rely on so many different processes countywide, municipalitywide statewide. Theres so much overlap that communication is so important. So when we have something going on at the local level we can push that information to our Fusion Center which then goes to the National Level are. So when it come toes to a. I. And funding specifically, you know, the counties have to have an ability to participate in the application of those funds if theyre available. And using those funds proactively to mitigate any a. I. Threats that we would encounter. In charleston im sorry go ahead. No p good. Thanks. I just want to quick mr. Allen, can you talk about, you know, how we work hard to get some federal funding for elections. Its been helpful for equipment and the like. Could you talk, address how the ways your state has been able to put federal election funds to use . Yes maam thank you. We used funds to make available to all of our 67 counties gis Software Mapping software that are able to be used in all of our board of registrars offices so when they are getting folks registered to vote or implementing new county commission lines School Board District line, congressional lines, ters are made sure theyre put in the correct voting precinct and the correct district. So we have made that available. And its being utilized right now, and we are e happy and pleased with the implementation of how thats going so far. Thank you very much. Ill save a question, my colleagues are all here for you mr. Kruse, on recruiting poll workers and the like. With that, we turn it over to senator britt. Thank you madam chairwoman. Secretary allen, this committee has heard testimony before regarding nationwide challenges with recruiting and retaining poll workers. I know that earlier this year you launched the heroes to the polls initiative in alabama to help recruit poll workers in our state. Can you explain more about what that initiate is and how its been implemented and how its going at this point . T thank you senator. So who better than veterans to protect our elections you know . They have protected our constitutional right to vote with their service through the military so we this program to help recruit poll workers. I can until you as a former probate judge who stayed on the phone a lot recruiting poll workers that thats one with thing we wanted to make available and and help our local elected officials who run our and so thats really, really teimportant. That we make that available to them. And, you know, we want to give another tool to the proif bait judges circuit clerks and sheriffs so when theyre appointing those Election Officials and when im speaking to groups, one thing i always try to encourage these groups to do is i i say, raise your hand if youve ever served as poll worker. Sometimes you have some, sometimes you dont. And i always encourage them to getti involved because thats how they can help their local excuse mes. So with our heroes at the polls,. Lawyers for liberty which we work with the Alabama State bar to give attorneys and to recruit attorneys if they sign up, get trained and is work on election day, they gntinuing education. Oh, thats great. With the state bar. We want to make that tool available to them as a well, so were taking steps to help these local officials to recruit poll workers. Excellent. Thank you for your work on that. Yeah. Additionally, as you know, federal law bans noncitizens from in federal elections. That being the case, its important that states be given the tools that they need to insure noncitizens are not able to register or vote election. Last year i introduced the citizen ballot protection if act here ini the senate, and i appreciate all of my republican colleagues on this committee joining me in that effort. Congressman gary palmer of alabama introduced the house version of that bill earlilast summer, and it was voted out of House Committee on administration in november. I hope to see both chambers pass this and it become law. The bill is simple. It amends the national Voter Registration act to allow states to put in place aof of citizenship requirement for both the federal mail Voter Registration form and any state Registration Form that they might be able to develop. Secretary allen in that vein, can you explain what resources secretaries of state have around the the country at their disposal to provide their state or local Election Officials the the ability to verify citizenship when individuals attempt to register to vote . Thank you for the question. The simple answer is we dont have really anything at our disposal to verify citizenship. Really when a man or a woman goes in to register to vote and they sig their name, theyre attesting that they are telling the truth that they are a citizen of the country. Just recently back in december we asked the United States citizenship and Immigration Services for a list of noncitizens so we could crosscheck our voter file in alabama. We were denied that list from the federal government. They told us to use the s. A. V. E. Program which is the systematicication Entitlement Program database. But the thing is the s. A. V. E. Program database with does not allow states to very orfy citizenship through that database. Verify. So thats really all we have. We tried you know . The federally government, federal courts have blocked previous efforts by tates states to verify citizenship. I think its important now more than ever especially given whats happening ott our at our southern border. Do you are there any other additional barriers that hinder citizenship verification that you can think of . Sounds like theyre significant as it is. They are significant challenges to verifying citizenship. You know, we have tried every. Do you making telephone calls and so forth i only have 30 quickly you mentioned this inse your opening testimony but you talked about if an alabama voter needs identification, that you will go to their home sure. Free of charge. Can you education plain to explain to the committee here orts that we make in the state to be able to make that available to every sure. So we require photo identification to vote, but we will give anyone that needs photo identification to vote in alabama free of charge, well go to their home if they call and with that. We will go to their house to identification. If we want everybody every eligible alabama citizen to be able to vote, senator. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. Senatorr merkley. Thank you very much. Madam chairman. And, secretary benson, you had several examples in your testimony of the intimidation of poll workers. And one was election direct ier director that was threatened to be hanged for treason, and i believe in Rochester Hills a voicemail saying 10 million patriots will surround you when you least expect it directed towards tina barton. Another in detroit city saying youre going to pay dearly. This is all across the country. And this is an example of the threats that were put forward in oregon being written on the parking lot. And as you can see it was basically done right after election. Vote dont work. Translated elections dont work. Nextsl time, bullets. And i must say ive all over my state that theyre having difficulty recruiting poll workers due to these threats which have basically beens trumps argument a that the election was stolen. Is this happening all over the country . Yes. Ande it has since the 2020 election cycle. In terms of the threats and the challenges. And my colleagues on this panel have talked about a solutionss of antidoxxing legislation and i think michigan has gone a long way to pass state laws to very clearly draw a line in the sand about what is andd isnt appropriate in terms of threats to election workers. I would just add one thing one i think the absence of any clarity from the federal government that this is not appropriate and that it is a crime to threat an election official in their line of official duties is while i would say passing a law to clearly make it a senator ossoff and others have to these individuals who have borne a lot of the brunt of the lies that have plagued our democracy for the last several years. The other thing ill underscore, one thing im particularly proud of in michigan where we launched the democracy mvp program in 2020 it too partners to recruit veterans. It partners with the ava nationally and in our state to recruit aba to are recruit attorneys. We have seen a new generation of election workers step up to the plate determined to protect our democracy despite the threats and at the same time thank you. Im trying to get in a couple other questions here. Very comprehensive you. And, secretary allen you mentioned the importance of making sure that nonif citizens dont vote. Noncitizens. This has been a point of some discussion as to whether these strategies are intended to essentially intimidate people and whether this is addressing a real problem. Have you seen a significant number of noncitizens attempting to vote in your state . No. Te and do i recall thaome audits to try to examine that, and what did those audits find . Yes. We take the importance of only eligibotsly of. We have several layers of protection if when we implemented automatic Voter Registration in particular to insure documentation and also a make clear to folks the consequences legal consequence intentions of lying on these forms. But at the same time as weve dean done our work investigations weve consistently found that our voter rolls are clean and noncitizens are not voting to the extent that some would allege. So theres many ways to abroach this that have worked very well and ms. Nelson is, would you affirm that that is the case . [inaudible]ve if there are noncitizens attempting to vote in any substantial or even notable number. Just say i hate to see people trying to address a nonproblem and disguise it as a problem when theyre really trying to intimidate people from voting. Ms. Nelson, i wanted to turn to your testimony and you mentioned zell things that are done to several things that are done to discourage people from voting. Ive heard about these all across the country. If you have a section of the state that you dont want to vote like a certain city, a certain poor area, a certain natieservation changes in polling location, you move it, you consolidate it, you proceed to the open the voting placeoc late, youo understaff it so that there is a long line. You proceed to put the voting place where theres no park so people get very parking so people get very frustrated. You proceed e to run out of ballots which was one i hadnt heard about before when you were talking about the mississippi. And so these strategies, how do we tackling these . Well, the way were tackling them is we have 25 poll now in mississippi addressing those very issues that you just laid out. I have a realtime email from my team telling me that thats what theyre seeing. Theres also sign isage issues. Signage issues. There are many ways that are not easilyny detectable until if you are in the middle of an election voters are being disenfranchised where there is a clear targeting and a clear disregard for certain communities when they are attempting to cast a ballot. What we need is in addition to our Election Protection effort, we need strong legislation that will prevent some of these changes from happeng without there being some preclearance are, some authority that says it is okay for you to do this, it will not disproportion nately harm certain voters. Yeah. I only want to just ever size that in closing because these things emphasize that because like legitimate operations but they can be used in an extremely prejudicial manner. And then senator padilla. Thank you. I want to thank all of you for being here today. Your work is extremely important. The founders tasked the states conducting elections to help insure the integrity and the confidence in our election system is. So i want you all to know i appreciate your service. Secretary al learning im going of time. Im ooh going to ask you to keep your answers brief yes or no if appropriation, sort of answers. Lets get started. Are you familiar with prescribeds executive order which directs federal to end engage in Voter Mobilization including helping with completing vote by mail materials and finding Third Party Organizations to help provide Voter Services ones sir. Secretary allen are you aware of an authority or in federal law that permits the executive Branch Agencies to engage in this sort of mobilization activity . Im not. Nor am a i. It seems like this activity may very well violate the hatch act and the antidefish city act which prohibits spending funds in a man they ares not authorized by manner thats not authority z by congress. Does it seem problem problematic for agencies to, quote assist applicants in completing vote by male ballot forms and bring in outside organizations tote help do that . Is. Yes sir it is problematic. This bind executive order says that any outside organizations brought inti to help with Voter Mobilization must be, quote, nonpartisan. Lets take a look at whos helping the Biden Administration with this order. Last year an Agency Within the department of health ifs and Human Services acknowledge ifed that it was working with groups like the a a clu and demos to implement this voting executive order. The latter of which describes its mission as, quote pioneering bold, progressive ideas. A foia request also revealed that can demos is working with the department of agriculture. Do the aclu and demos sound like nonpartisan groups to you . No, sir. Their priority its are openly partisan. Secretary allen if bidens agencies are using openly leftwing groups to get out the vote activity, it sounds like the federal government is being used as an arm of the biden sir. This is [laughter] a Republican Administration hiring the her package Heritage Foundation to engage in quote nonpartisan voter activity. A couple of weekes ago Vice President harris announced that the Biden Administration was paying College Students to reach out to voters and serve as, quote, nonpartisan poll workers. Then the Vice President provided an example of the nonpartisan poll workers that she was talking about. The person as an example previously worked for the aclu and the alliance for justice, which is a partisan group. The Biden Administration yet disclose this plan that is despitedespitefully request to do so. Once a governor for that matter to require Government Agencies to engage in Voter Mobilization develop secret plans for doing that. I dont think that isl. The taxpayerfunded Voter Mobilization plans. These releasees plans. S,youll back my time. Witnesses in front of us. Feels to dirty parts in a language in the language of the directive if anything acquired tension the Voter Registration act was passed on overwhelming bipartisan basis in 1993. Before you to the subsidence of actac section two finding purposes again on a bipartisan basis right of citizens of United States about is a fundamental right. Number two it is the duty of theth federal state and local governments to promote the exercise of that right. And it goes on from there. Ending one looking for where in the statute you might find enough partisanship to get encourage actually except to exercise a fundamental right to vote. Moving on. We can and should have longerterm conversations about modernizing elections what you can to protect the integrity of the bedrock of democracy and knows its a threat to election workers and poll workers has already been covered in this hearing. But recognizing we are debunked to primary season november is on the horizon. Lets talk about practical here and now things that can and should be done. Just two examples of my home state were larger counties in my state every election has immediate debris to help inform voters and excuse me the press and by extension the public of the voting process. Some follow the news and faith and confidence in the process. Post a primary or not during thete counting it takes ast while with participation. California is implemented in a System People confide up toca receive Text Messages email messages in local languages. Ththis dallas of their bad and on the way to the voter and other back to the county but when its processed, when it hasto been counted. Questions for mr. Cramer what systems are inen place for local officials to learn federal resources are available to them. Maybe even a s best practices. The great honor we have at the state partners we hold the state conference every year. The one thing i am proud of we are launching the boat or Ambassador Program in Charleston County. We are the trusted election information source. Were going to empower other organizations within Charleston County to be our ambassadors under strict guidelines. We do a program like that we have to be able to share with tates. The eac has a great Clearinghouse Program we are now able to tap into. Thats resource sharing we can ask questions what are you doing to be effective in Election Administration . Its a tool for introducing official spread. Wonderful, thank you. Now on a very specific topic recently the department of education rules around the federal work study program. Making it clear that yes it is legal for students on workstudy jobs to work in election offices. To make this clarification last october because somehow sequestered in the minds of some. And im glad it happened. Its a terrific way to bring dedicated younger americans to see their democracy up close and personal. And imagine being inspired to pursue a career in thatin area but in the short term possibly concerns. A question for mr. Cramer at you previously had high school and college age poll workers and ection workers correct . How did they perform . They are amazing. They bring a fresh breath of polling places art lead poll workers love and they see high school and College Students participating. One of the things we see as they continued serving after theyve done it once thats a remarkable thing about bringing young kids into the process. Yet conflict resolution its a great resume builder and i look forward to working with the college of charleston. Yet eac grant money we will introduce in programming through that. So we are excited break. Something you can adapt or expand on . You know where doing this in michigan. [laughter] im gratefu in South Carolina for his leadership. And make democracyer work. We welcome people of all background left, right come in the middle serving as election workers to secure system. Theexcept thank you manager. Thank you very much and the ever patient senator beutler. Thank you madam chair and thank you senatorer and thank you to the panel. Secretary benton, formery president called georgia secretary ofee state and this is not immediate aftermath of the 2020 election said quote all he want to do is this i just want to find 11780 votes which is a one more than we have. Have you ever got a call from president ial candidated precise the number of votes they need when thene election . No ive never gotten a call from any candidate for any make an inappropriate request to election official too. About you section you got a call from ken as new divine process of the number of votesot received your. Does it strike you as proper . No. I could only take careful we have an alabama precooked is a proper for the president isaac to call a secretary of state and asked them to find the exact number votes the need to when the i do not know exactly what he meant by finding those votes. But i was not secretary at the time president of the nine states to call a state secretary of state and asked them to find process of the number votes that they need to win yesterday no . I can tell you a secretary in alabama im going to follow the law that alabama legislators laid out for me too follow. Your fear answering that question does not inspire confidence. Let me ask you secretary benton about the intimidelection workers you had noted legislation im introducing this week the election worker and polling place protection act would create criminal penalties for threats of violence to intimidate voters or Election Officials. Appreciate you expressing support for the legislation. What effects do threats on election worker to workers an average intimidate election workers have ministration . Not only does that cause us to fear going to work even though we do important wk into it with pride somehow their people wish to harm us, our staff, or families or simply dare patriotic duty. But in addition to that it makes it harder for us to do that. It takes us away from the actual work of administering elections every time you need to issue protections or think about her own safety. I could say speak with our election workers have a clear statement in the law thats not okay its a crime to threaten us in our workplace for simply doing the job of making elections work for everyone is long overdue to see the federal legislation passed and i can say that the experienc in passing summit legislation michigan goes a long way to send a message that type of behaviorsa is not approved or appropriate in the state. Mr. Cramer what do you t whats the impact on the administration when there are threats andel intimidation which as we saw in 20 saw in georgia. In fact i would note the republican Election Officials in georgia were begging and public the former president ceases spreading baseless conspiracy theories about the theft of the election in georgia they putat risk what is the impact on the capacity of election workers to do their job when they face those kinds of the threats were based upon baseless conspiracy through fraud . What is keeping that good people writing elections for this company. And South Carolina we are loosinglosinga wealth of knowledge. Hardworking professional men and women who serve this country by performing this duty. They are leaving. That wealth of knowledge leaving is a bad thing for the United States. These are people who swear to uphold the constitution of the state in the United States it is a bad thing it is one thing what keeps me up at night it is the protection of these workers. When they wake up in the morning and get a threat to their safety that concerns me it should concern everyone. In the aftermath the 2020 election paid fred by the way want to note there is a lengthy oped guy named ken he was hired by the trunk andwr paintedut run the impact of the conspiracy theorist nonetheless on the basis of the conspiracy theories Georgia State Legislature Passed a law for example cuts the available time for runoff elections in half driving up the wait times and runoff elections what is the that kind of policy ensuring access to the ballot for all eligible voters . Georgia past a very carnal harmful omnibus Voter Suppression of law. What it does is exacerbates the issues of black voters georgia has a very, very horrible reputation forth disproportionate lives saved. Of their laws attempted to prevent people from providing basic sustenance to those people who have to wait on disproportionate long lines likepo water and snacks. We are fortunate enough to beat back part of that law and some of the other aspects of the disenfranchised many black voters. But redouble our efforts to have a fair shot thank you up your testimony. Thank you senator. The gift of being number 100. [laughter] i remember that time you went first of the committee. It works in all kinds of ways. Particularly depending upon your chair. Appreciate your testimony in being here. You submit in your recent testimony of the challenges working with hinds county jackson. In particular some specific data shared testimony. Hinds county is approximately 70 black eiexper shortages during the 2023 at Mississippi State white election. This was one of the first times in my recent memory that there was a competitive governors race. There is n opportunity to make sure its a democratic governor and they noted in hinds county that ran out of ballots multiple times i noted it was a part of the some work and steps to help find and advocacy across the state and during doing that work. Can you share with the committee quickly what you learned yourat investigation. Some of it is ongoing. We did not get an answer before todays election as to whether there is any threat to ballots running out again based on what we learned in the previous election. We are still investigating that that isn. Why we have people on the ground that is why we are documenting and democracy defended. All the different incursions on the right to vote that we are finding so that there is a record tl legislation that we are here to demand congress pass. There are no modern conditions that should give rise to federal intervention its patently false. The work we do about their civil rights collects every election on the ground establishes that support the advancement act. I had the pleasure of being down in alabama just a week ago. Ive been on the campus o a member of this body conducted abo field hearing in alabama talking to alabama voters about just that points. They are experiencing. I would like to actually instead of the landing there he said something in your testimony a few minutes ago in response to an earlier question i would love to press on just a little bit to understand more. You made mention of some funds. You said that your office uses to get Mapping Software for counties and municipalities. In my capturing that accurately . For the county board ofrars. That is really helpful i noted earlier this month therere 6000 voters and alabama and the second Congressional District that received electionth postcards listing incorrect voter information. I appreciate your office as said before you werent involved and sending out the talk about the intersections of the challenges of alabama voters not getting the correct information. The tools you set your office helps to provide and facilitate the county elections and why you think your office had nothing to do with voters in alabama get the incorrect information. The registrar in every county to make sure the voters are placed in the correct district. It is not thedi secretarys role the secretarys office role to conduct the voter assignments that are solely left up to the county. We went to make sure we got on but the county in question to make sure they got it right. Andinstead what they chose to do it was a send out a press release monday afternoon before the primary which cause introduced chaos right before the primary election. It was something that is not was not appreciated by my office. Open communication was on Montgomery County and those registrars have those voters in the correct district. Make sure everyones in the correct precinct. Everyone voted on election day got the correct ballot. Everybody to understand that. They got the correct ballot to voting in Congressional District two. I find it interesting i find it interesting the response goes to Advocacy Group was doing or notdoing at alabama and sb one the very same Advocacy Groups are prohibited to help people get the information they need. I find that interesting contradiction but thank you. I yield my time. Okay senator bennett . Thank you madam chair. Thank you for holding this hearing your willingness to be here today to testify. I had a couple questions for you if that is okay. We heard yesterday the Intelligence Committee from leaders of the Intelligence Community not very surprising news the social media platforms opposed to our democracy. Every single one of these platforms i think virtually has been used to spread education related disinformation not just here but all around the world. Sometimes to violent and deadly effects in the lead up to the 2022 elections online mentions of voter fraud absolutely skyrocketed. In 2020 was our fellow citizens storm the capitol which is well known to save an election that had not been stolen. Their rage amplified by relentless algorithms relief for profit to sell advertising. Not for the sake of democracy certainly bring 2016 it is wellestablished this is not political view Vladimir Putin interfered they have repeatedly with elections and other countries around the world here playing both sides with 10 million tweets. That is not an exaggeration to quote joe biden the is the reality of what was happening there. There is a lot going on as the chair knows today probably did thin happen if one of the sources of regular information process. It is a platform that is controlled by the Chinese Communist party. One could imagine that is going to end and a b way for the United States. I think think it be really selfdefeating to assume that what happened in 2022 and in 2020 andn 2016 is not going to happen again this year. You stated in misinformation as the top concern in 2024. Even more than in 2020. Could you talk a little bit about what National Standards you think we ought to be able to put in place to safeguard our elections from Online Campaign . Thank you, senator. Yes, weve been we been working in michigan to emphasize this greater incentive than ever before for foreign actors to a fear. It will interfere us try to defeat or voters. Particulate being the first election Artificial Intelligence is on the ride we believe that we wanted the more likely re tactics that utilize particularly through social media and elsewhere first and foremost for the senate to pass center klobuchar deceptive practices with ai will be key to helping every state be prepared to. We have state legislation were one of six states and to that effect. But secondly, i would argue that as i often say democracy is a am sport. Whats illegal what is not with regard to deception with elections is one piece but is not the whole piece of the puzzle. Trusted voices Community Leaders and many others which we are doing in our state and we need to do nationwide i nationwide i think every senator could be a conveneth or toe equip them with truthful information about our election. Help to get that out ahead of the misinformation hitting our states that will help ensure voters who have been educated ahead of time about the truth and our elections. Class one more question next week issuing of the Supreme Court is going to hear the case of murphy against missouri which addresses District Court District Court decision preventing the federal government from communicating with social Media Companies about the content on their sites. The lower Court Decision has had a disastrous effects on our ability to combat foreign influence and protect the integrity of our elections for it affects the governments ability to coordinate with thego platforms on Public Health information. At threatens to undermine threats taken across multiple president ial administrations to hold the platforms accountable. To have their own sets of policies. The Washington Post reported some platforms about foreign Disinformation Campaigns altogether. Called the injunction strikingly broad they pointed to pause and its logic its confuse legal arguments and the alarming fusion. But when and how you are navigating these in the changing Legal Environment when it comes to communicating with platforms in the clear and present danger to michigans elections. It is difficult and it makes a lot more challenging to collaborate with social Media Companies that have an Important Role to play intecting their users from deceptive tactics and misinformation. Working with citizens to be information they do receive helping them understand the way in which misinformation causes chaos and confusion and disruption to our elections has been our focus so we can empower the citizens in our state to spot people trying to fool them to spot the Bad Information on social media and not only not send it or forward it but instead respond with truthful information to help us counter that in every way in our states. Thank you thank you madam chair and thank you again to everyone on the panel. Thank you very much. You to all of our witnesses. For a very gooddes hearing. Any, for your work to ensure elections are administered safely and securely. I want to thank mrs. Nelson for her continued work equal access to the ballot and look forward to continuing our work on ts committee to support Election Officials and protect a free and fair election. They hearing a record will remain open for one week. And with that we are adjourned thank you. [inaudible conversations] conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] coming up tonight on cspan2 a hearing on a military software and innovation. Biden Administration Officials lawmakers and advocates discuss help policy issues and politic summit in washington d. C. Oregon governor tina and housing officials talk about housing shortages and other challenges