The committee will come to order. Good morning thank you to the witnesses for participating in todays hearing we all have the subcommittee will come to order. Good morning thank you to the witnesses for participating in todays hearing we all have a stake to ensure a safe and secure election in november. This hearing comes one week after we lay to rest a giant in Voting Rights. Before he died, congressman lewis reminded us the vote is the most powerful nonviolent change agent in a Democratic Society and use it because its not guaranteed we must vigorously defend our right to vote with access to the ballot box and in less than 90 days americans across the country box and in less than 90 days americans across the country will participate in an election unlike any other in history that pandemic for state and local Election Officials to rapidly expand votes by mail and early voting and other policies so no voter has to choose between their life and their health. With the states primary election seemingly administrative decisions related to the number and location have dozens of impacts of peoples right to vote those that are predominantly black and brown neighborhoods and Police Violence to underscore that systematic racism and with those political ends with Foreign Influence Campaign and americans the president does not have the power moreover the Cybersecurity Infrastructure agency released Risk Assessment of vote by mail while there are risks associated with mailin voting just like every other method they can be mitigated and further i am not unaware of any intelligence assessment indicating foreign actors have expressed interest or capability to successfully interfere with vote by mail. We must learn lessons of recent elections to do better in november. First we must prepare americans for their reality elections will be administered differently this fall and educate voters vote by mail and deadlines and how expanded vote by mail might affect the chinese. We must encourage participation while inoculating from the Disinformation Campaign undermining confidence second we must assure changes that they do not jeopardize vote by mail and then to expand vote by mail and coordinate with the Postal Service and then to ensure Election Officials as a pretext to make the administrative decision of the disenfranchised voters. Time and time again the impact calls hardest on black and brown communities. It must be delivered that no community is disenfranchised. And then with the Operation Campaign against one candidate and targeting the election systems and then to improve the security election infrastructure and Campaign Organizations to improve the resilience and finally we need to be honest with ourselves about what it would take to safe and secure and audible elections this fall. Since they pass the heroes act to provide three. 6 billion in funding with the state and local of officials. Despite urgent requests for Additional Resources and the senate never voted on the heroes act or ever have funding and that it continued i urge my Senate Colleagues to step up and provide state and local election decisions of what they need to administer safe and secure auditable elections this november. And the recommendations for congress to give them opportunities to vote in november and to ensure the safety and integrity of the elections. I would like to recognize the Ranking Member of the subcommittee for any Opening Statements you may have. John lewis shined with the American Leadership i considered him a friend and then this is another example an Election Security is something i am very concerned about to ensure that all americans and in 2016 Election Security is a major concern and those that are fundamental to the democracy and with every aspect of the election process. It was cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency state local territory in tribal government resulting in improvement of 2016. To provide state and local officials a Technical Assistance and exercises and that pandemic into the 2020 election that many officials of which citizens vote. These changes will keep them safe to keep them safe in the process and to keep america vote act to keep the 2020 election during the pandemic. State local Election Officials and with the consolidation of voting locations and with those procedures. Election from 2020 with that participation with the state and local official and then to recognize selection offices with the research they need with tools and training and information sharing and analysis. And not have the it knowledge and that is necessary from disinformation and not equipped to handle to that election infrastructure alone. And to provide Risk Management and Technical Support in the hybrid security expert with the unique election systems it ensures that they can establish relationships to those officials to target the administration to be forced to compete with other state priorities election bipartisan cooperation ensure it is uncompromised and must remain a top priority together. And to provide testimony and to have further improvement on our election systems. I yield back. The gentleman from new york yields back. We thank you. And that the subcommittee would operate to the guidelines by the chairman and the Ranking Member colloquy i Wave Committee rule 882 under that covered. Under the designated speaker House Resolution 965. Without objection so ordered. The chair has recognize the full committee for the opening statement. Mr. Thompson . And out to the Ranking Member of the full committee then will come back to the chairman now we recognize the chairman of the full committee the gentle man from alabama now is go straight to our amazing witnesses. We will welcome our panels witnesses the elections integrity fellow previously served in a range of positions and observing elections to advocate for election reform including the idaho elections director and next the director of voting and elections and with Public Interest law and Public Policy campaigns and reducing barriers to participation to combat the historically disenfranchised communities next we will hear from the ceo of the National Vote at home is a to and coalition. And to serve on the National Election task force was stay in universal vote by mail i look forward to hearing her unique perspective on that topic. Finally made of the president and ceo of the center for Internet Security with information sharing and analysis to provide many resources for the cybersecurity needs of the Election Community i appreciate you all joining us today without objection witnesses false statements will be inserted for the record and i now ask each witness to summarize his or her statement for five minutes. Chairman richmond and members of the subcommittee on cybersecurity innovation. Good morning. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today to protect the integrity during that covid19 pandemic i am the Election Integrity fellow with a bipartisan Transatlantic Initiative and to develop comprehensive strategies to deter and defend against authoritarian efforts with the Democratic Institutions the 2020 primary election season has been unique with a Global Pandemic a nationwide protest and ongoing interference my testimony today focuses on six steps to ensure the 2020 election is safe and secure and fair. State and local Election Officials help permit partners to evaluate their infrastructure to ensure it is as secure as possible. Testing of systems is essential at the National Association secretaries of state revise with the department of Homeland Security told state officials testing was state and local officials have a number of concerning vulnerabilities including shared passwords and other credentials and default known to outsiders also with attacks allowing actors to install malware that could paralyze election day operations. But the good news is many issues could be easily be fixed by election day but the bad news is many offices cannot make these quickly because they lack the necessary resources coronavirus has exacerbated the problem forcing a number of states with those other anticipated costs. And to be part of the design and not introduced afterthefact in the june 2nd primary election the washington see these the with complaints from voters who did not receive absentee ballots in the mail decided at the last resort to allow them to submit their ballots by email so they could be cast and counted. The effort was wellintentioned to put the results at risk because theres no way they could verify their votes were recorded accurately or to ensure they were not altered by bad actors there is no actual interference allowing them with adversaries i could use such actions with the legitimacy of elections. We need to ensure they are running as smoothly as possible so this is less likely to be affected when with an Accurate Information more likely to find a receptive audience. Regardless of how secure our elections are officials are concerns that would dismiss the result as invalid or rigged because of disinformation voters argue the much longer time required that anticipated surge of ballots with conduct we must to flood the information state with credible consistent information so voters are immunized. And then constant changes required but it is doable particularly if federal authorities can our state and local Election Officials additional funding to the election process it is essential partisan politics be kept out to build confidence in the integrity of the election process and that happened long before election day. For example kentucky had a relatively smooth primary election due to a bipartisan agreement reached well in advance between the democratic governor and republican and secretary of state taking a number of steps to prepare for her absentee voting Election Officials using resources to planned for reasonable foreseeable contingencies early voting in election day options to minimize confusion and risk are optimal that many dont have the resources or the personnel Additional Resources from federal authorities would help enormously that time is of the essence john lewis once said your vote is precious. The most powerful nonviolent to all we have to create a more Perfect Union i urge congress to do Everything Possible to ensure that every person who was to exercise their right to vote can do so. Thank you. Good morning. Thank you to all members of the subcommittee and the director of voting and elections the non with those supporters. [inaudible] with the covid19 pandemic we have known voters have vastly different voting experiences. But there is there is no such thing as a perfect election. And then to have access to ballots in those significant barriers so only a small percentage of the electorate the 2020 primary season with the solutions before elections. And then to highlight some of these issues and common issue and that reconstruction. [inaudible] for example. [inaudible] [inaudible] and then to vote by mail that time is running out and thes efforts are exacerbated however they are solutions that have systemic change. So to address each of those. [inaudible] and then even prior to the pandemic that these were no longer available. But then the Voter Empowerment act and then we continue to strongly urge i cannot think of a better way. [inaudible] and with that 2020 election. And with your testimony i will now recognize to summarize your statement for five minutes. Thank you mr. Chairman. Thank you for inviting me to provide testimony with the willingness of our system during this unprecedented Public Health crisis. The pandemic has all aspects of our life and then to ensure the election system is ready and resilient. And even in extraordinary and challenging extra can stand on six on circumstances with a lack of funding and resources and other challenging circumstances that they face and are part of the problem. In those circumstances with little support but this is unprecedented. And have the power to help and in small towns and in metro areas across the United States and even those at the federal level respond to their needs. It along with searches, unprecedented surges in absentee ballot requests that went unfilled due to the Administrative Burden process they are unable to use their fundamental right to vote. The leaders fought to ensure that our democracy functions so all voters have access to participate. Voting at home options is one way to solve the challenges and by extension voters faced by pandemic. Voting by mail is proven, timetested and goes back to the civil war. The mailin ballots model puts voters first and has proven to be resilient during both natural disasters and the current pandemic. To streamline administrative processes, enhanced security all while conserving valuable resources, increasing turnout and trust i the trust in govern. Voters have been voting this way at home safely and securely for decades but utah to colorado, california, oregon, washington, now washington, d. C. , vermont and nevada after this weekend policymakers have acted to ensure they have a range of options to both safely and securely because no one should have to choose between voting and protecting their health. What does this process look like . As of august of this year, just recently, nevada passed voters will be mailed in a ballot in advance of the election and have multiple options to return it. And the rest of the states, voters can return a ballot to be returned. A small number of the states require an excuse to be provided with a request and even fewer still limit options based on the voters age. Every singles date offers an option to vote at home. Whether you call it absentee, vote by mail, mailin ballot, it means that its being sent to the voter by email, the voter complete the ballot and it is concerned considered. It includes strong Safety Measures to ensure the authenticity of the ballots and in some states, this includes ballot tracking from the day that they are mailed all the way through when they are processed. Now as a couple of notable considerations, and as you mentioned in the report that was released on friday that talked about the importance of securing vote by mail systems noted this information risk to the infrastructure and process is similar to that a thin person voting while utilizing different content. Actors they leverage limited understanding regarding the mailin voting to mislead and confuse the public. This includes casting belt without evidence about the ballot process, thus combating disinformation and misinformation is a critical aspect of the officials work, the security, expanding to vote at home options is nonpartisan and supported by the leaders on both sides of the aisle. A second notable consideration is the reason to change to the process and delivery timelines that will have a Significant Impact on the process. Regardless of the voting method. The ballots are just one piece of how the post Office Support election infrastructure. Federal and state laws have legal mandates with regards to sending Voter Registration information, ballot issued notices, election information, poll worker employment, cards, Signature Cards can address updates come in medications and other required mailings. All of these required mailings are at risk if the post office is not able to process mail effectively. Some states have also not updated with regards to ensuring adequate time to process. These include michigan, pennsylvania, wisconsin, new york, maryland, alabama and others. This is exactly why weve seen delays in the results because officials dont have adequate time to process in advance of election day. As was perfect the system we must be able to detour and hold accountable any bad actor that tries to interfere in the process. While voter fraud is rare regardless of the voting method it is critical for officials to detect malicious activity into voters to report suspicious activity. Our democracy functions when every eligible voters able to exercise their right to vote. Voters have already chosen to vote at home in record numbers in the primary and they will continue to do so. Our democracy is essential if we need to be sure that our systems are secure from any interference and misinformation as it is noted in the report on friday. No system is perfect if this is why it is critical to review and improve systems by enhancing access the transparency particularly in this unprecedented time. A necessary improvement is the implementation of the ballot tracking systems. Another example i