WASHINGTON — House Administration Committee Republicans argued at a hearing Wednesday that legislation to ban noncitizens from voting — already illegal — is necessary to prepare for the November election.
Democratic secretaries of state in key battleground states told committee members they were more concerned about the specific threats they and their election workers face from election disinformation.
Three Democratic secretaries of state, Adrian Fontes of Arizona, Jocelyn Benson of Michigan and Maggie Toulouse Oliver of New Mexico, have said non-citizens voting in federal elections is not a problem, despite GOP pressure to introduce legislation to ban the activity.
“There is no evidence that noncitizens vote, and if there were, it would be easy to prove because voting records are public. And despite many organizations spending a lot of money to convince people that noncitizens vote, none of these groups have been able to produce any evidence of that,” Benson said.
The Democratic secretaries of state added that as former President Donald Trump continues to spread a lie about his 2020 presidential victory, they are forced to deal with threats and fear that the lie has led to widespread distrust of the election results.
The storming of the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, was an attempt by a pro-Trump mob to prevent Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election.
The three Republican secretaries of state at the hearing, Frank LaRose of Ohio, Cord Byrd of Florida and Mac Warner of West Virginia, argued that a federal law requiring proof of citizenship for registration is necessary to prevent noncitizens from voting and to secure elections. Studies have shown that noncitizens voting happens rarely.
“The fact is, it’s rare, but we keep it rare by enforcing the law,” LaRose said of such a vote. “It’s my duty to do it. Unfortunately, that duty is not as easy to do as it should be.”
A bill pulled from the floor
Republicans in the House of Representatives are currently trying to put together Number 8281passed in July, which requires proof of citizenship to register to vote, to a stopgap government funding bill. The vote was scheduled for overdue Wednesday night, but House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana he pulled out the bill because he did not have enough votes for the resolution to be adopted.
However, is dead from the start in the Senate and President Joe Biden has already promised a veto.
House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil, a Wisconsin Republican, said he is still working to pass HR 8281 before the November election.
“As the federal election approaches, it is imperative that we take a close look at how each Secretary of State will implement federal and state election laws to ensure that every legal vote counts,” Steil said in his opening remarks.
In November, a number of Republican-held states will hold referendum initiatives aimed at preventing non-citizens from voting, including IdahoIowa, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina AND Wisconsin.
It is also a priority for Trump, the current Republican presidential candidate, who has made immigration a key plank of his campaign and falsely claimed that foreign voting cost him the popular vote in 2016.
The committee’s top Democrat, Joe Morelle of New York, noted that the election has already begun as ballots are sent to troops overseas and states prepare for early voting in the coming weeks.
He expressed concerns about threats to election workers as well as disinformation about election security.
“Election officials are operating in an election season that continues to be marked by a steady drumbeat of disinformation and misinformation,” he said in his opening statement. “For months, we have heard the former president and others either refuse to say they will accept the election results or condition their acceptance on ‘if it is free and fair’ — undermining Americans’ confidence that our elections are, in fact, fair and secure.”
More consistent funding
Morelle said Congress needs to do more to support election officials, including by providing lasting funding through election security grants.
He added that in fiscal year 2024, Congress has allocated about $55 million to U.S. states and territories in the form of election grants.
Oliver and Benson said a steady flow of federal funding would also support them combat misinformation about the election.
Benson said her state often needs to raise funds and that a “predictable and steady stream of funds” would be helpful, especially in the face of threats of violence and intimidation.
She added that she knows all eyes will be on Michigan, a battleground state, noting that in the last presidential race, her state was able to release results within 24 hours. The 2020 presidential election results in Michigan were disputed by Republicans.
“We will never sacrifice accuracy and security in tabulating our votes for efficiency,” Benson said. “We understand the urgency of the move and the fact that the eyes of the nation will often be on our state.”
Biden’s Voter Registration Executive Order
Republicans on the committee had reservations about implementing regulation issued three years ago from President Joe Biden, who ordered federal agencies to support register eligible voters.
“It is our duty to ensure that registering to vote and the act of voting itself is simple and easy for all eligible persons,” the implementing regulation reads.
Republican Representative Greg Murphy of North Carolina disagreed with the initiative, arguing that it is partisan because it helps Democrats win elections.
“That’s where the anxiety and anger come from,” he said, referring to Americans’ lack of confidence in the election. “It’s definitely for the Democrats.”
Oklahoma GOP Rep. Stephanie Bice agreed, saying that while voter registration is critical, it is not something the federal government or its agencies should be doing. She asked Republican secretaries of state if they had been contacted about the executive order.
LaRose said that since he sued the Biden administration over the issue, “I think they know better than to ask me.”
Byrd said he has ordered Florida agencies not to participate in the effort, and Warner said he has sent a letter to the White House asking for the executive order to be rescinded because he believes it is unconstitutional.
Threats to election workers
California Democratic Rep. Norma Torres said she was concerned about threats against election workers.
Oliver said misinformation about elections has led to voter distrust. She said the discussion about non-citizen voting is an example of that.
“When voters are misinformed, they lose confidence in the system,” she said. “Out-of-state voting is not happening in any systematic way in New Mexico or the country.”
Torres asked how this type of disinformation affects their work and the work of election workers.
Benson, who was elected Michigan secretary of state in 2018, said she has had people show up at her home and threaten her.
“People are showing up on my doorstep when I’m inside trying to hang Christmas decorations with my 4-year-old son, shouting into a megaphone, ‘You’re a murderer and you should be arrested and tried for treason,’” she said. “That’s the reality of it. It’s affecting them.”
Benson said the lies and misinformation about the election results “make us afraid to go to work, afraid to go grocery shopping, afraid to take our kids to school, afraid to go outside because we don’t know what might be lurking on the buses.”
“This is what we have experienced not only in the last week but in the last four years,” she said.
