Subcommittee, this is about an hour. The subcommittee on elections on House Administration will come to order. Im happy to announce we are joined to today by mr. Agre from california and mr. Raskin. Hearing ining this compliance with the regulations for Committee Hearings pursuant to House Resolution 965. Generally, the committee would keep microsomes muted microphones muted. Members will need to unmute to be recognized for five minutes. Witnesses will need to unmute themselves when recognized for their five minutes or when asking a question. Members and witnesses, please keep your camera on at all times. Even if you need to step away for a moment, do not leave the meeting. At this time, i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise thatmend the remarks and any written statements be part of the record. Hearing no objections, so ordered. Today, we are examining new misinformation in the 2020 election. How the spread of false information harms voters and what can be done to combat this and ensure that americans can go to the polls armed with Accurate Information. This year, we cannot discuss election misinformation without also recognizing the persistent misinformation being spread about the ongoing covid19 pandemic. Americans need Accurate Information about how to cast their ballots about the pandemic, and importantly, Accurate Information on how to cast their ballots in a manner that protects their health. Election day may be four weeks from today, but voting is well underway. Overseas and military ballots were sent out a few weeks ago. Absentee ballots can be requested now and returned in the weeks ahead. More than 30 states are already mailin ballots to voters. Mailing ballots to voters. Early in person voting began in many states over the last two weeks and more will do so in the weeks ahead. Early voting begins in ohio today. The American People are voting and will be voting now through november 3. During all of this, the president and others are waging an insidious campaign to so w distrust in our process by spreading false claims that vote by mail is rife with fraud, making unsubstantiated claims that the election will be rigged, encouraging people to vote twice which is illegal and wrong. Additionally, u. S. Intelligence agencies warned that russia has continued its Disinformation Campaign and continues to interfere in the election. In 2016, no group of americans were targeted more by Russian Internet disinformation than africanamericans. American people deserve the truth. They deserve an election free from the fraud of false information and Voter Suppression. The truth is, millions of americans, including the president and members of his administration, cast a ballot by mail every election cycle with exceedingly rare instances of fraud. The truth is as significantly , more americans prepare to cast their ballots from home this year than ever before, the American People must be prepared that we may not know the winner of the election on the night of november 3. And this does not mean anything is wrong with the election. The Election Night results are never final that night. Days, if notake weeks, to certify election results. This also allows ballots that were mailed on election day to be counted. The truth is that there is nothing nefarious. It is simply about counting ballots. The count must be accurate and that takes time. Every validly cast vote should count. That is democracy. Ares mailed on election day cast on election day, and we should count them, not spread fear and lie about a rigged election. Misinformation being spread in the lead up to this years election is a disservice to voters and a danger to our democracy. And our democratic institution. The house passed the shield act in october 2019, which would address the spread of misinformation, including prohibiting the spread of false information about voting, but the senate has refused to act. It is our duty to ensure voters have all of the necessary , Accurate Information you need to cast their ballots freely, fairly, and safely during the pandemic and with confidence in our electoral system. I thank all of our witnesses for being here today and i look forward to hearing your testimony. The Ranking Member is unfortunately unable to join us today. I ask unanimous consent that his statement be made part of the record. Without objection, so ordered. Each of you will be recognized for five minutes. I will remind our witnesses that their entire written statements will be made part of the record and that the record will remain open for at least five days for additional materials to be submitted. Another reminder to our witnesses, there is a timer on the screen. Please be sure you can see it and you are mindful of the five minute limit. Joining us today, a commissioner with the u. S. Election assistance commission. And wasioner hovl confirmed by unanimous consent in 2019. He previously served as acting chief counsel for the Senate Committee on rules and administration. Jenna griswold is colorados 39th secretary of state. She began her term january 8, 2019. She is the youngest elected secretary of state in the country. Practicedgriswold has International Anticorruption law, worked as Voter Protection attorney, and preview loosely the board served as of elections president. Member davis chapelle mr. Overton is the president of the jordan joint center for political and economic center. Mr. Overton is also a tenured professor at George WashingtonUniversity School of law. He previously served at the office of legal policy at the department of justice during the Obama Administration. It is interesting to note that we are holding this hearing during National Voter education week. With that, i will now recognize members for their five minutes. With mr. Egin today hovland. Good afternoon. Thank you, chairperson fudge and members of the this is an important issue. Combating disinformation was one of the expected issues of the 2020 election and the covid19 pandemic has only exacerbated the risk. From the 2016 for interference in our elections, there has been an increased focus and dedication to the security of our elections. The department of Homeland Security has helped to codify and coordinate efforts between federal, state, and local Government Agencies as well as private industry. This has led to a change in information sharing and coupled with an act his greatly improved the Security Posture of our elections. That commitment to securing our elections has continued, but it is impossible to discuss this election without acknowledging the impact of the covid19 pandemic. Since march amid the debates about the health of our communities and economy, Election Administrators have had a difficult path of determining how to adapt their practices and procedures to conduct safe, secure, accurate, elections. At the eac, we have pivoted substantially to focus our attention on how we can support state and local Election Officials as they make tough decisions. Eac has also distributed almost 1. 2 billion in Grant Funding to the state since 2018. This includes 400 million from the cares act funds and additional Election Security funds. These resources have proven vital to improving Election Administration and covid19 related issues. Election administrators have risen to the challenge during these difficult times. The Public Servant that administers elections can only did dust do their best when it comes to limiting the impact of widespread disinformation. Political campaigns and Interest Groups are spending billions of dollars to influence americans. Foreign adversaries are amplifying our divisions to dissuade participation or provide inAccurate Information about how voters can participate. In the face of that, americans must come together to protect our nation, the electoral process, and voter confidence. Those who can should help encourage confidence in the electoral process by highlighting the great work of our Election Administrators. Supporting efforts like the National Association of 2020 campaign are integral parts of ensuring that americans get the right information this year. Today, we are 28 days from election day. Military and overseas citizen absentee ballots have been sent out around the world. A number of states have begun early voting. Some registration deadlines have already passed. The most important things we can focus on at this point are the basics. Serving voters well and helping them to have a positive experience whether they vote by mail, absentee, early in person, or on election day. Misinformation can interfere with that. We must push back against this intentionally misleading disinformation but also misinformation that may be wellintentioned or appropriate for citizens and one state or jurisdiction but not another. Area, voters are registered in one or two states or the district. Social media does not stop at the state line. Runseality is, each state elections in a unique way. The effort i mentioned earlier is about helping americans get Accurate Information about Election Administration from their state and local officials. This is the trusted source for each voter which provides correct information on how to participate. With all of the noise that surrounds this election, it is crucial that we encourage individuals to think through how they plan to vote and trust source information. Most americans have the option to vote by mail or on election day. We know from the cdc that limiting congestion in the polling places will keep voting as safe as possible. Helping americans get Accurate Information about their voting options and how they can participate this year and shows that ensures that voters have the opportunity to vote on or before election day. Thank you again for the opportunity to testify today and i look forward to your questions. Thank you very much. I appreciate your testimony. We will now hear from secretary griswold. You are recognized for five minutes. Thank you for your work on elections and for inviting me to this hearing. I am colorados secretary of state. I look forward to sharing my views on combating misinformation in the election. As colorados top election official, i believe Election Security is one of our greatest National Security risks. If Foreign Countries interfere with our election, it undermines faith in the entire electoral process. When voters doubt the process, they are less likely to participate which weakens our democracy. I would like to briefly discuss the threats we are facing and proposals for congressional action. The Intelligence Community and bipartisan Senate Committee on intelligence concluded that russia interfered in the 2016 election. We know that enemies are trying to influence how we vote and undermine confidence. The fbi just released warnings noting foreign actors may try to undermine confidence in the results. Foreign adversaries are meddling in our elections. We cannot allow this to continue. In response to ensure colorado remains at the forefront of election preparedness and that we remain confident in our process, i created a cyber unit to combat misinformation and emerging cyber threats. The rescue team is coordinating with partners by implementing a Public Outreach effort to ensure no to we ignore the noise. Ensuring my office can rapidly respond to misinformation by releasing Accurate Information and ensuring county and nongovernmental partners work with us to rollout correct information. We are also working with dhs and the fbi. Following the election, we will shift toward enhancing our resistance to foreign interference. An initiative to advance initiatives to counter foreign miss intervention misinformation. Last winter, before covid19 shut down our state legislature, i proposed legislation to combat disinformation in colorado. The proposal strengthens requirements to ensure paid election messages are not coming from foreign sources. It prohibits campaigns from collaborating with foreign governments. We must ensure that Foreign Countries do not use social media platforms as a tool to suppress americans votes. Colorado is leading on this and our democracy demands it. Congress also has an Important Role to play. From appropriations and warnings to the public to tackle this i recommend the following action. Congress should establish a commission with bipartisan representatives to develop recommendations to make sure what happened in 2016 and is happening right now never happens again. Congress should provide Adequate Funding to states for cybersecurity. Third, congress should require the Intelligence Community to declassify foreign misinformation and work with a partisan representatives from state and federal government to rule out the information to the american public. Fourth, congress should consider legislation to combat election misinformation and foreign coordination. I also call on congress to act to remove the artificial protections afforded to social Media Companies. Social Media Companies are not neutral platforms. Content can promote ill intentioned for an activity. They should not be shielded from accountability. While social media can be a tool for good, adversaries can use it as never seen before. I am grateful for this opportunity to testify today. I am optimistic that we can counter foreign misinformation and make sure every american has a democracy we can believe in. Thank you. Next guest, you are recognized for five minutes. You. Ank i appreciate the opportunity to speak. In the 13 years i have served on the ohio board of elections, including the last three president ial elections, i have never witnessed the falsehoods being disseminated about the integrity of our elections process that i have seen in this cycle. The lie that there is rampant voting fraud has been tamped down somewhat. It is shameful. Its an election fact that voters in ohio have been voting by mail successfully since 2006. Our ohio secretary of state has published a number of materials highlighting the goals and tactics of the Disinformation Campaigns we are seeing. These campaigns are taking divisive issues, amplifying messages via fringe groups, organizing protests and so forth , using internet and social media to launch campaigns with the goal of subversion, civil unrest. [inaudible] cynicism and discouraging public participation. There are a number of foreign bad actors engaging in this campaign. Much of this misinformation is being promoted by President Trump, the white house, and other domestic bad actors who have unfairly demonized the vote by mail process and undermined public confidence. We are committed to combating this in a number of ways. We began implementing a new initiative to encourage voters to vote by mail to maximize their safety in the pandemic and that initiative is called vote from home. Were also trying to separate fact from fiction by making sure voting is secure. We combat misinformation with facts using mythbusters campaign. These were posted on social voterseared to giving Accurate Information about the voting process. Samples of our messages were included with my written testimony. We have ramped up efforts to connect with voters by education and Community Outreach as a way to combat misinformation and disinformation. We communicate regularly with 300 community partners. Although we only have three employees in our outreach department, these individuals organize and present events that educate and gauge voters. Engage voters. We have a robust website and we have vastly improved our social media presence. We are working to expand those capabilities. One new program we are proud of is a Voter Engagement session on facebook live. The session is held twice per week at noon for 1015 minutes to provide information and updates on the election, to address deadlines. We post pertinent information on all outlets weekly and all of this and more often if we need to and its an effort to counter inaccurate and dangerous messaging being circulated in both traditional media and social media. We have been thinking about ways Congress Might help boards of elections combat misinformation. Additional funding to allow for more robust Community Outreach and Voter Education programming, hiring additional staff to work with voters and earmarking money to improve social media capabilities would be welcomed. I am hopeful the information i share with you today will h