The Republican National Lawyers Association (RNLA) is proud to support the American Confidence in Elections Act (ACE Act). A PDF version of our letter to Committee on House Administration Chairman Bryan Steil and Ranking Member Joe Morelle can be viewed here.

July 10, 2023

The Honorable Bryan Steil
Chairman, Committee on House Administration
1309 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Joe Morelle
Ranking Member, Committee on House Administration
1216 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Chairman Steil and Ranking Member Morelle:

As the leaders of the Republican National Lawyers Association (RNLA), we are writing to express our support for the American Confidence in Elections Act (ACE Act). One of the missions of our 6,000 lawyer and law student members is to advance open, fair, and honest elections. The ACE Act does just that.

The ACE Act provides a stark contrast to the election legislation that dominated the last two Congresses, H.R. 1 and H.R. 4. As RNLA wrote in a letter in opposition to H.R. 1 in 2019: “this legislation, far from protecting the people, would protect the interests of established politicians and lawyers by vastly expanding the federal government’s power over elections, regulating political speech, and creating new rights of action that would clog the court system.”

In comparison, the ACE Act promotes confidence in elections by increasing transparency, clarifying the limited role of the federal government in election administration, and promoting the freedom of Americans to express political viewpoints.

The list maintenance provisions in the ACE Act would enact much-needed reforms for states to perform effective voter list maintenance. Improved cooperation between states and the federal government will increase the accuracy of voter rolls, especially in ensuring that noncitizens do not vote in federal elections. This reform should have bipartisan support as accurate voter registration lists was a priority identified by President Obama’s bipartisan Presidential Commission on Election Administration. 

Finally, the removal of the federal tax exemption for both direct and indirect private funding of election administration will achieve the important goal of preventing nongovernmental actors from interfering in American elections. The proliferation of “Zuckerbucks” over the past several election cycles illustrates just how easily private funding can undermine voters’ confidence in election results.  Elections must be run transparently and not influenced by employees of private organizations.   

We offer our ongoing support of the passage of the ACE Act as the Committee facilitates debate on the crucial topic of increasing confidence in elections in the coming months.

Sincerely,