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Source: Congress.gov
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The Subcommittee on Elections of the Committee on House Administration will come to order. The title of today's hearing is Revisiting the 2024 Election with Secretaries of State. I note that a quorum is present. Without objection, the chair may declare a recess at any time. We will do opening statements here today and then recess for the floor vote. We will quickly reconvene after the vote and begin with witness testimony. Also, without objection, the hearing record will remain open for five legislative days, so members may submit any materials they wish to be included therein. Thank you, Ranking Member Sewell, members of the committee, and our witnesses for participating in today's hearing. Recent elections have produced record high turnout, and in turn, those elections become the most challenging for elections officials to administrate and process. Presidential, primary, general, and special elections occur around the clock across states, requiring efficient administration to provide Americans with free and fair elections. As a former Secretary of State, I am glad to welcome our witnesses today for an important review of our nation's most recent presidential election. Voters across America went to the polls in record high numbers in 2024 to exercise one of their most fundamental rights. According to our Constitution, the states are responsible for prescribing the times, places, and manner of holding elections for senators and representatives. The role of Congress in elections is to provide oversight and to support states in those efforts. The purpose of our hearing today is to revisit the 2024 election and hear from Secretaries of State who conducted their state's elections this past November. Specifically, we will be looking at what went well and what lessons we can learn from each of the Secretaries in administering free and fair elections and how we can continue to protect and promote voter confidence. I thank all of our witnesses for coming before the committee today to share your knowledge and expertise on this matter.
During the 2024 election cycle, over 155 million Americans cast their ballots in races for the White House, the Senate, the House of Representatives, governors' mansions, state legislatures, state Supreme Courts, and more. Even with record high turnout, many states were able to report their results on election night for the presidency. However, some states were significantly delayed in calling races for the Senate and the House of Representatives for days, and in some cases, weeks. Something I was very proud of as Florida's former chief elections official was how quickly our state was able to call elections with confidence in our results. Undoubtedly, states with laws on the books for pre-processing of mail-in ballots, regularly enforced deadlines for receipt on election day, and consistent post-election audits of voter rolls are in the best position to administer their elections without undue delay and to report results on election night, which helps instill voter confidence. Many states across the country including most of the states the secretaries here today represent, have taken initiative in enhancing their election security laws. When Americans feel their vote will count, they are more inclined to take the time to cast a ballot. Americans must know that their vote will not be misplaced, damaged, or otherwise interfered with, but instead it will be counted in a timely manner. Americans must also know that non-citizens' votes will not cancel out a legal vote. Strengthening our voting laws increases voter confidence and leads to higher turnout in our elections. This most recent election was proof of that. In Alabama, Louisiana, Idaho, and Ohio, successful election integrity measures have been implemented. Each of these states are evidence of how enhancing election integrity and security can help to manage high voter turnout, voter access, and the rapid process of ballots to certify results on election night. While states are the primary authority on how elections are conducted, it is our role here in Congress to assist in any way that we can.
One way we will be able to help provide resources to states is by passing the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, or the SAVE Act. This bill would bring critical reform to the National Voter Registration Act that would help prevent non-citizens from being added to voter rolls. It would also provide states with free access to the DHS SAVE program and the Social Security death database, which will help states remove non-citizens or deceased persons who should not be on their voter rolls. In doing so, the SAVE Act would codify many of the measures included in President Trump's recent executive order to strengthen election integrity and security. Running a successful and uneventful election is no easy task. I am looking forward to learning from each of you about how you successfully ran elections in each of your states in 2024 and how Congress can assist in future elections. Thank you for being here today, and I look forward to our conversation.
With that, I yield to Ranking Member Sewell for an opening statement. Good afternoon, everyone. As a ranking member of the Election Subcommittee and as a representative of Alabama's Civil Rights District, there is nothing more important to me than ensuring that every American can cast their ballot. It was in my hometown of Selma, Alabama, 60 years ago, where John Lewis and hundreds of foot soldiers were bludgeoned on the Edmund Pettus Bridge for the equal right of all Americans to vote. However, for the past decade, extremists have fought to undo the hard-won progress that the foot soldiers sought to achieve. Just last year, lawmakers in 40 states introduced 317 bills to eradicate new barriers to the ballot box. Since this defeat, Since his defeat in the 2020 election, Donald Trump and his Republican allies have pushed the big lie of a stolen election. They have even tried to convince the American people of the lie that non-citizens are voting in large numbers and are threatening our elections.
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