Today, the U.S. House Administration Subcommittee on Elections Chair Laurel Lee (FL-15) and full Committee Chairman Bryan Steil (WI-01) held a hearing entitled "2022 Midterms Look Back Series: Successes in the 2022 Midterm Elections." This was the subcommittee’s first meeting of the 118th Congress.
Chair Laurel Lee (former Florida Secretary of State) gave opening remarks emphasizing the critical importance for states to safeguard the election process:
“I am passionate about ensuring every state administers safe and secure elections. And that voters across the country have confidence in our election system. Both Republicans and Democrats have a common goal of ensuring that every eligible American citizen has an opportunity to vote and for their ballot to be counted.”
Witnesses who offered testimony included Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin, Florida Seminole County Supervisor of Elections Chris, and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose.
Chair Lee spoke on the different areas that require special attention by election administrators:
“Each of our states share many of the same challenges, and we will work together to ensure we’re addressing cyber and physical infrastructure, emergency management strategies, and that we provide insight to states across America about best practices and the tried and true methods for conducting secure and accurate elections.
Where we see States succeeding, we will shine a light on their important work. And where we see states falling short, we will work to bring transparency to their challenges and to serve as a resource to help improve their elections process.”
Secretary Ardoin gave testimony on several measures Louisiana has taken to further secure the state’s election system including banning ballot harvesting, conducting accurate audits, strengthening the equipment testing, and prohibiting noncitizens from voting.
Secretary LaRose shared how Ohio has expanded election transparency through electronic voter data and records being available to the public. Ohio has also consistently cleaned their voter rolls.
Full Committee Chairman Bryan Steil pointed out that election integrity policies actually boost voter participation:
"The data shows that when we have strong elections and strong integrity in our elections, we see increased voter turnout. When people know they can trust their ballot is going to be counted, they're going to be more likely to vote.”
Although elections are administered at the state level, the RNLA applauds the Republican Members of the Subcommittee on Elections for their commitment to both uphold the Federalist approach and support state and county officials in their efforts to ensure open, free, and fair elections.