[Senate Hearing 118-047]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 118-047
OVERSIGHT OF THE UNITED STATES
ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION
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HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON RULES AND ADMINISTRATION
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
JUNE 7, 2023
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Printed for the use of the Committee on Rules and Administration
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available on http://www.govinfo.gov
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U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
52-827 WASHINGTON : 2023
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COMMITTEE ON RULES AND ADMINISTRATION
FIRST SESSION
AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota, Chairwoman
DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California DEB FISCHER, Nebraska
CHARLES E. SCHUMER, New York MITCH McCONNELL, Kentucky
MARK R. WARNER, Virginia TED CRUZ, Texas
JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West
ALEX PADILLA, California Virginia
JON OSSOFF, Georgia ROGER WICKER, Mississippi
MICHAEL F. BENNET, Colorado CINDY HYDE-SMITH, Mississippi
PETER WELCH, Vermont BILL HAGERTY, Tennessee
KATIE BOYD BRITT, Alabama
Elizabeth Farrar, Staff Director
Rachelle Graves, Republican Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
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Pages
Opening Statement of:
Hon. Peter Welch, a United States Senator from the State of
Vermont........................................................ 1
Hon. Deb Fischer, a United States Senator from the State of
Nebraska....................................................... 3
Christy McCormick, Chairwoman, United States Election Assistance
Commission, Washington, DC..................................... 4
Benjamin Hovland, Vice Chair, United States Election Assistance
Commission, Washington, DC..................................... 6
Donald Palmer, Commissioner, United States Election Assistance
Commission, Washington, DC..................................... 8
Thomas Hicks, Commissioner, United States Election Assistance
Commission, Washington, DC..................................... 10
Prepared Statement of:
Christy McCormick, Chairwoman, United States Election Assistance
Commission, Washington, DC; Benjamin Hovland, Vice Chair,
United States Election Assistance Commission, Washington, DC;
Donald Palmer, Commissioner, United States Election Assistance
Commission, Washington, DC and Thomas Hicks, Commissioner,
United States Election Assistance Commission, Washington, DC... 25
For the Record:
Testimony Addendum for the United States Election Assistance
Commission..................................................... 40
United States Election Assistance Commission Legislative
Proposals...................................................... 52
Questions Submitted for the Record:
Hon. Amy Klobuchar, Chairwoman, a United States Senator from the
State of Minnesota to Christy McCormick, Chairwoman, United
States Election Assistance Commission, Washington, DC.......... 57
Hon. Michael Bennet, a United States Senator from the State of
Colorado to Christy McCormick, Chairwoman, United States
Election Assistance Commission, Washington, DC................. 60
Hon. Amy Klobuchar, Chairwoman, a United States Senator from the
State of Minnesota to Benjamin Hovland, Vice Chair, United
States Election Assistance Commission, Washington, DC.......... 62
Hon. Michael Bennet, a United States Senator from the State of
Colorado to Benjamin Hovland, Vice Chair, United States
Election Assistance Commission, Washington, DC................. 64
Hon. Amy Klobuchar, Chairwoman, a United States Senator from the
State of Minnesota to Thomas Hicks, Commissioner, United States
Election Assistance Commission, Washington, DC................. 66
Hon. Deb Fischer, a United States Senator from the State of
Nebraska to Christy McCormick, Chairwoman, United States
Election Assistance Commission, Washington, DC and Benjamin
Hovland, Vice Chair, United States Election Assistance
Commission, Washington, DC..................................... 69
OVERSIGHT OF THE UNITED STATES.
ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 7, 2023
United States Senate
Committee on Rules and Administration
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 3:30 p.m., in
Room 301, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. Peter Welch,
presiding.
Present: Senators Klobuchar, Fischer, Padilla, Ossoff,
Bennet, Welch, Hagerty, and Britt.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HONORABLE PETER WELCH, A UNITED STATES
SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF VERMONT
Senator Welch. Good afternoon. I call to order this hearing
on Oversight of the United States Election Assistance
Commission. Thank you all for being here. I want to thank you,
and I will be giving witness introductions in a moment, but I
will start with an opening statement.
First of all, Senator Klobuchar would very much like to be
here but cannot, and I am going to be expressing many of her
views, as reflected in this opening statement. But I want to
say personally on her behalf that she very much appreciates
your work and very much appreciates you being here. I want to
thank you and acknowledge the EAC was established with broad
bipartisan support.
That is good news and that was about 20 years ago, in
tasked with the very important responsibility of improving
election administration and security, establishing
cybersecurity guidelines for voting systems, and promoting
accessibility.
We want everyone to have the opportunity, who can, to cast
their ballot and for that to be counted. Your resources and the
administration of election in all 50 states has been, as well
as the District of Columbia and all five of our territories,
has been very important.
As we are approaching the 2024 elections, the EAC mission
remains important, even more so as officials are now doing the
dedicated planning that it takes to administer elections
effectively, while also confronting the array of new challenges
and threats to targeting election workers, the spread of
disinformation, and the use of artificial intelligence, even,
to mislead voters in our elections.
We have got to continue to support the election officials
on the front lines in our democracy who need to be able to rely
on regular and steady federal funding to do their jobs. These
vital resources, including the over $931 million in security
grants since 2018, enable state and local officials to do
everything from securing our
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elections against foreign interference and keeping pace with
the evolving technology to recruiting and training poll
workers.
One urgent issue that the Commission can help to address is
the barrage of harassment that is targeting election workers.
These public servants are essential to the administration of
our free and fair elections, which is why I joined Chair
Klobuchar and a number of our colleagues on this Committee to
lead comprehensive legislation to take this issue head-on. It
is an area where we do need bipartisan solutions, and I am glad
that last year the EAC voted unanimously to allow election
officials to use federal funding to protect election workers
from threats and harassment.
Since then, states like Washington and Georgia have used
EAC funds to improve the physical security of voting and ballot
processing centers. I look forward to hearing more on this from
you. In addition, the EAC has helped enhance the security of
election infrastructure essential for public confidence in the
elections, including issuing new guidance to improve security
standards for these voting machines.
These efforts and significant investments in election
security help ensure that--helped ensure that the 2020 and 2022
elections were secure, as the Department of Homeland Security
has repeatedly made clear. The Commission also serves a very
important role in combating misinformation.
My home State of Vermont is experiencing the same
challenges with disinformation as others across the country.
Our Secretary of State has done everything within--the former
one, Jim Condos, his power, and now our current one, her power,
to combat the spread of false claims about elections.
I am proud to report that an independent audit of the 2022
election in Vermont found no major discrepancies despite having
a record turnout. Unfortunately, that has not stopped everyone
from making false claims intended to destabilize our state and
federal elections.
I am hopeful that the EAC can continue playing a leading
role stemming the spread of election disinformation and
ensuring that every single state is ready to face this growing
challenge in 2024.
Finally, while we must continue investing in our elections,
I remain concerned that in many states, voters continue to face
laws that make it harder to vote. It is why I and many others
support the basic federal standards in the Freedom to Vote Act.
It is why I support the John Lewis bill to repair and restore
the Voting Rights Act.
It is worth noting that our country has a history of
passing federal laws to strengthen our democracy. A few weeks
ago, we recognized the 20th anniversary of the National Voter
Registration Act or Motor Voter Law that was enacted with
bipartisan support. Last October marked 20 years since we
passed HAVA or the Help America Vote Act.
That is where this organization was started, and I look
forward to hearing about the Commission's efforts to support
local and state election officials. Now I want to thank our
witnesses, but I will turn it over to our Ranking Member,
Senator Fischer. Thank you, Senator Fischer.
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OPENING STATEMENT OF HONORABLE DEB FISCHER, A UNITED STATES
SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF NEBRASKA
Senator Fischer. Good afternoon, and thank you very much,
Senator Welch, for holding the hearing today. It is a pleasure
to sit with you. I told the Senator I would keep him under
control.
Senator Welch. She can do it.
[Laughter.]
Senator Fischer. I also want to extend my gratitude to our
witnesses, the four EAC Commissioners, for joining us today. We
look forward to hearing your perspectives, insight, and
experiences in guiding the EAC's work as we set our sights on
the 2024 elections and beyond.
Today's hearing provides an opportunity for the Committee
to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the Commission's
operations, noted successes, identify areas for improvement,
and address existing and emerging challenges.
The EAC plays an important role. It is the only federal
agency with the sole responsibility of helping states improve
their administration of federal elections, which in turn helps
to ensure the security and legitimacy of the voting franchise.
It collaborates with states and local officials, shares
best practices, accredits testing laboratories, certifies
voting systems, and provides vital resources to help ensure
elections are conducted with integrity.
It is, in my view, the best and most appropriate entity to
play this role. In recent years, election officials have
confronted an increase in threats to election integrity and
cyber security. The EAC stands well-positioned to help election
officials respond to emerging challenges in an ever evolving
landscape.
To that end, I look forward to hearing about the
Commission's recent overhaul of the Voluntary Voting System
Guidelines, the technical standards at all voting systems
certified by the Federal Government must meet. I understand
that these updated standards include significant improvements
aimed at preventing attacks on our election infrastructure.
As you all know, states are tasked with the important work
of recruiting, training, and retaining election officials and
poll workers. It is concerning then, that we continue to hear
about difficulties with recruitment and retainment.
Dealing with emerging election security issues has become
all the more difficult as those with the most experience
retire. However, the EAC has done its part by raising awareness
through the valued role of poll workers and inspiring greater
civic engagement through the establishment of National Poll
Worker Recruitment Day.
I was very pleased to hear that on this day that was so
successful--I was very pleased to hear that this day was so
successful--that the EAC also designated August 16, 2022, as
Help America Vote Day to further encourage more Americans to
sign up as poll workers.
While we in the Senate recognize the accomplishments of the
EAC, we must remain vigilant in our pursuit of continuous
improvements. The public demands and deserves an electoral
system that is transparent but secure. Our duty is to ensure
that the EAC
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is equipped with the necessary tools, resources, and guidance
to fulfill its mission effectively.
Once again, I extend my sincere appreciation to our
witnesses for their presence today, and their commitment to
helping preserve the public's trust. Thank you.
Senator Welch. Thank you, Senator Fischer. Our first
witness is Chairwoman Christy McCormick, confirmed as a
Commissioner in December of 2014. Commissioner McCormick
previously served as an attorney in the voting section of the
Department of Justice and at the United States Embassy in
Baghdad, where she oversaw Iraq's national elections. Thank you
for that. She received her bachelor's degree from the
University of Buffalo and a law degree from George Mason.
Our next witness will be Vice Chair Ben Hovland, who was
confirmed in January of 2019. Before joining the Commission, he
spent several years working here at the Rules Committee--thank
you for that--first for Leader Schumer and then for Senator
Klobuchar and served as Deputy General Counsel for the Missouri
Secretary of State and received his bachelor's degree from the
University of Central Arkansas and a law degree from the
University of Oregon.
Our third witness is Commissioner Tom Hicks, who joined the
Commission in December of 2014. Prior to his current role,
Commissioner Hicks served as Counsel for the Committee on House
Administration. I used to be over there, Senator, and worked
for Common Cause and for the Office of Personnel Management in
the Clinton Administration. He received his bachelor's degree
from Clark University, and his law degree from Catholic
University of America.
Our final witness is Commissioner Donald Palmer, confirmed
to the Commission in January of 2019. Commissioner Palmer
previously served as Secretary of the Virginia State Board of
Elections, as Florida's Director of Elections, and as attorney
with the voting section of the Department of Justice.
He also served for more than two decades as an intelligence
officer and judge advocate general in the Navy and received his
bachelor's degree from Jacksonville University, master's degree
from George Washington, and a law degree from Stetson
University.
I will now swear in our witnesses before we proceed to
their testimony. Commissioners, if you would, now, please stand
and raise your right hand. Do you swear that the testimony you
will give before the Committee shall be the truth, the whole
truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Ms. McCormick. I do.
Mr. Hovland. I do.
Mr. Hicks. I do.
Mr. Palmer. I do.
Senator Welch. Thank you. You may be seated. We will now
proceed to your testimony, and I will recognize you for five
minutes, a five-minute statement, and we will start with
Chairwoman McCormick.
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OPENING STATEMENT OF CHRISTY McCORMICK, CHAIRWOMAN, UNITED
STATES ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION, WASHINGTON, DC
Ms. McCormick. Chair Welch, Ranking Member Fischer, Members
of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear
before you today to discuss the work of the United States
Election Assistance Commission as we prepare for the 2024
elections. We appreciate the Committee's crucial oversight
efforts and close attention to the EAC.
Our nation's elections have faced increased scrutiny in
recent years, and this Committee has responded by demonstrating
leadership in helping to support election administrators.
Whether listening to the needs of election officials,
furthering work under the Help America Vote Act, or providing
grants for election security, Congress has worked closely with
states to reinforce this critical infrastructure.
As an independent, bipartisan agency, the EAC stands in a
unique position to work with Congress to further assist states
and localities in the efficient and accurate administration of
elections. Over the past decade, the field of election
administration has faced ever growing challenges and the need
for increased technology improvements to our election systems.
Many of these challenges, including questions about
adequate funding and security for voting systems, are not new.
Others, however, have increased suddenly in recent years. For
example, social media continues to evolve with new platforms
and generative AI tools, making voter education more
challenging. In addition to administering elections and voter
education, officials must still prepare for cyber, physical,
and personal security threats.
Many election officials have left the field, citing safety,
increased requirements and expectations, and a lack of
resources. Some local communities have seen their entire
election departments resign.
Now, more than ever, election officials need our support.
With the help of this Committee, the EAC is determined to do
all it can to meet these challenges. Over the past year,
Commissioners have redoubled outreach by resuming travel across
the country for in-person meetings, presentations, and visits
with state and local election officials.
Discussions during these visits underscored not only the
outstanding work of election administrators in the 2022
midterms, but also the significant impact of efforts by the
Federal Government to provide guidance, monetary resources, and
best practice materials.
Election officials have expressed sincere gratitude for
recent assistance, especially for resources dedicated to safety
and security. This includes over $900 million in HAVA security
grants provided by Congress and administered by the EAC.
With support from Congress in the form of an increased
agency, operating budget, and more consistent HAVA funding to
the states. The Commission continues to fulfill its mission to
improve the administration of federal elections and to help
Americans vote. As you are aware, the decentralized nature of
United States elections results in a diversity of practices,
laws, and regulations. With more than 3,000 counties and
thousands of localities, it takes nearly 1 million poll workers
to operate election polling sites.
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This process supports more than 209 million registered
voters. To support the country's diversity of election
situations and meet HAVA's charge with developing election
guidance, the EAC's newly expanded clearinghouse division has
produced more than 60 products since 2021 to assist election
administrators.
These documents reflect the need for unbiased, trusted
source guidance as election officials navigate the complexities
of election administration. Earlier this year, we hired an
experienced government leader, Steven Frid, to serve as our new
Executive Director. One person does not an agency make, so the
EAC has hired needed support staff to assist in the election
process and the role it plays as critical infrastructure.
Additionally, the EAC marked the 20th anniversary of HAVA
in 2022, commemorating the historic milestone with the launch
of Help America Vote Day and the second National Poll Worker
Recruitment Day. The EAC continues to strategically promote
election worker information on social media and on our website.
We created helpamericavote.gov in 2020, in service of the
first National Poll Worker Recruitment Day. This permanent
outreach platform offers a custom look-up tool with
jurisdiction specific information including official contacts,
required training, and polling place hours. In 2022, the EAC's
poll worker web pages had over 263,000 page views.
We regularly received modifications from election offices,
and based on the responses, information is regularly updated on
the site. We will continue to offer resources relating to poll
worker recruitment, retention, and training leading up to 2024,
including National Poll Worker Recruitment Day and Help America
Vote Day.
Given the interest that Members of this Committee have
shown in these efforts, we welcome your input moving forward.
Looking forward to 2024, with ongoing support from Congress,
the Commission will provide the necessary assistance to
election officials to mitigate challenges and protect the
integrity of United States elections.
I would like again to thank the Committee for its oversight
and support of the EAC, as well as for the opportunity to speak
here. I will now turn the discussion over to Commissioner Ben
Hovland to discuss the Commission's internal financial
oversight and grants management. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Ms. McCormick was submitted for
the record.]
Senator Welch. Thank you. Commissioner Hovland.
OPENING STATEMENT OF BENJAMIN HOVLAND, VICE CHAIR, UNITED
STATES ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION, WASHINGTON, DC
Mr. Hovland. Good afternoon. Thank you, Chairman Welch,
Ranking Member Fischer. I would also like to thank Chairwoman
Klobuchar and the Members of the Committee for inviting us to
testify about the work of the United States Election Assistance
Commission. My name is Ben Hovland, and I am the current Vice
Chair of the EAC.
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I look forward to sharing updates about the Commission's
grants management, internal controls, and budget. A core
component of the EAC's mission is distributing, monitoring, and
auditing the use of federal grants for the improvement of
election administration and security.
Federal HAVA funds, including the $955 million provided
since 2018, are a key resource for election administrators
responding to the increased technology and changing demands of
the field. To emphasize the importance and impact of this
funding, I would note the election infrastructure sector-
specific plan states, ``It is impossible to make an honest
assessment of the election infrastructure's subsectors risk and
the potential to mitigate that risk without an understanding of
the chronic resource issues the subsector faces at all levels
of Government.''
As we look toward 2024, I believe it has never been more
challenging to administer elections or more expensive. That is
why grant funding in partnership with the states is so crucial,
and we value your efforts to address the needs of state and
local governments through congressional--through the
congressional appropriations process.
As of March 31st, 95 percent of the Fiscal Year 2018
election security funds have been expended. Including
additional election security funds from Fiscal Years 2020,
2022, and 2023, states have spent a total of $529 million in
funds awarded between 2018 and 2023, which is approximately 56
percent of the available grant funding.
The spending rate depends on the state's plan to use, with
some states allocating the funds for long-term programs or
resources. Some states provide these funds to local Governments
in the form of sub-grants, while others rely on these funds for
staff and materials at the state level.
With each state having their own security needs and
differing timetables for significant purchases, such as voting
system replacement or new statewide voter registration
databases, usage rates have varied across the country.
The next expenditure reports are due to the EAC on July
30th, and we will update you on the continued impact made
possible by these much appreciated funds. As set forth under
HAVA, audits of election security grants are conducted after a
state begins to expend the provided funds.
Alongside distribution and administration efforts, the
EAC's Office of Inspector General recently added resources and
staff to better monitor state spending of election security
grants. With new staff leadership in place, the agency has
invested in building up staff capacity strategically across the
EAC.
However, the EAC still faces significant attrition
challenges. It is essential that we maintain adequate staffing
levels and mission critical functions to ensure statutorily
mandated requirements are met.
The EAC's Inspector General has raised structural issues
related to HAVA that are discussed in her report on management
challenges for the United States Election Assistance Commission
in Fiscal Year 2023. My colleagues and I concur with those
observations and have included them in our legislative
recommendations.
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Of particular note, the inability to pay competitive wages
compared to Congress or other federal agencies hampers our
ability to attract and retain talent. We are, however,
committed to doing everything we can with the resources we
have. The EAC is grateful for the increased funding provided by
Congress in recent years.
After facing over a decade of significant fiscal
constraints, the EAC returned to pre-2010 budget levels for the
first time in Fiscal Year 2023. For Fiscal Years 2021 and 2022,
the EAC successfully adapted and executed the operating budget
provided by Congress, ending each year with an obligation rate
of over 99 percent.
Congressional funding has been fully utilized, enabling the
agency to provide much needed assistance to address some of the
pressing challenges facing the election community. Thank you
for the opportunity to testify before you today and I look
forward to answering any questions you may have.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Hovland was submitted for
the record.]
Senator Welch. Thank you very much. We are going to go to
Commissioner Palmer next, but I want to welcome Senator Hagerty
from Tennessee to join us--who has just joined us. Senator
Britt was here briefly. Thank you. Commissioner Palmer.
OPENING STATEMENT OF DONALD PALMER, COMMISSIONER, UNITED STATES
ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION, WASHINGTON, DC
Mr. Palmer. Thank you, Chairman Welch, Ranking Member
Fischer, and Members of the Committee. I echo my fellow
Commissioners and our appreciation for the investment you have
made in the Nation's elections through continued support of the
EAC.
Building on Vice Chair Hovland's comments, I will share
with you some of the ongoing work of the Commission to test the
security of the Nation's voting systems and assure all
Americans their vote will be counted. In 2023, the EAC will
advance our testing and certification efforts in several areas.
A voting system certification does not end with a
successful test in an accredited laboratory. Rather, the review
of these systems continues through the lifespan of the voting
equipment. As a result, the agency is preparing to launch an
innovative field services program to help election officials
strengthen their overall posture and preparedness with EAC
certified or tested systems.
This onsite collaboration is important for several reasons.
First, implementation of system reviews in the field will
ensure that equipment delivered to jurisdictions is equivalent
to what was purchased. The effort will also analyze system
hardware and software configurations to verify equivalency of
the equipment to EAC certifications.
Additionally, there will be jurisdiction site surveys, best
practices assessments, collections of systems census
information, and analysis of anomaly reports. We recently
onboarded the Field Services Program Manager and look forward
to building out this initiative. In 2022, the Commission made
considerable progress to fully operationalize version 2.0 of
the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines, or VVSG.
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The new guidelines incorporate technological advancements
in cybersecurity, accuracy, accessibility, usability, and
audibility of the systems. Adoptions of the VVSG lifecycle
policy, along with the accreditation of two voting system
laboratories, or VSTLs, are necessary steps to the realization
of voting systems that are VVSG 2.0 tested and certified.
The EAC currently has one system that is being tested
against VVSG 2.0. We will also take this opportunity to
emphasize that VVSG 1.0 and 1.1 certified voting systems will
not be decertified by the EAC as a result of migration to the
new guidelines.
Voting systems that are currently deployed are still
accurate and reliable, may continue to be used, and do not need
to be immediately replaced or re-certify the VVSG 2.0. In
addition, they will continue to be tested and updated with
security patches.
It will take time and significant monetary expenditures for
jurisdictions to implement new systems certified under the
rigorous 2.0 process, so it is unlikely that systems certified
to 2.0 will be used in the 2024 elections. Congress and the
American people should have absolute confidence in this
process.
The EAC has amplified this message by recently publishing a
communications toolkit to assist election officials in
communicating about VVSG standards, updates in election
security, and helping boost confidence in the critical
infrastructure of our election systems. As part of our election
technology efforts, the agency launched Election Supporting
Technology Evaluation Program, or ESTEP, in 2022.
This technology will include electronic poll books,
electronic ballot delivery, election night reporting databases,
and voter registration portals. These elections reporting
technologies are crucial tools for both election officials and
voters. As more states and localities adopt these technologies,
officials are looking to the Federal Government for voluntary
standards and guidance, similar to what is provided in the
VVSG.
Currently, election administrators must rely on a patchwork
of state laws, regulations, and certification programs of
varying degrees of review. An established EAC program will
provide for the development of robust voluntary standards,
testing, guidance, and training material covering election
supporting technologies.
Attacks from Nation State Actors against our election
infrastructure have specifically targeted election assistance
in the past, and these attacks are only going to escalate. The
first technology pilot for ESTEP is Electronic Poll Books,
referred to as EPBs.
Election officials have leveraged EPBs to streamline the
check-in process, and automate ballot issuing. We certainly--we
currently have five EPB manufacturers participating in the
initiative and the expectation of two state programs joining
later this month.
As the cybersecurity threat landscape across the election
community continues to evolve, the EAC is planning a voluntary,
coordinated vulnerabilities disclosure program. The EAC will
lead a program to quickly identify and respond to
vulnerabilities in our voting systems, along with our federal
partners at CISA and the National Institute of Standards and
Technology. Development of this program is preliminary and will
require staff and resources in the future.
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I would like to thank the Committee for allowing us to
speak today. I will turn it over to Commissioner Tom Hicks to
further expand upon the Commission's wealth of clearinghouse
products. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Palmer was submitted for the
record.]
OPENING STATEMENT OF THOMAS HICKS, COMMISSIONER, UNITED STATES
ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION, WASHINGTON, DC
Mr. Hicks. Thank you again, Chairman Welch, Ranking Member
Fischer, and Members of the Committee for having us here today.
In addition to the developments my fellow Commissioners have
shared, the agency has also invested in increasing our
clearinghouse capabilities.
The EAC's clearinghouse division, composed of former
election officials and subject matter experts, helps the agency
share and develop resources for both the public and election
administrators, including best practices, information for
voters, and other resources.
In this role, the EAC serves as a trusted source of
nonpartisan information, especially as the field of election
administration continues to see high levels of turnover. So far
leading up to the '24 elections, the clearinghouse division has
released more than 60 products over the past two years to
assist election administrators.
These ranged from resources on physical security threats
against election officials, to ease data collection and
analysis. Further, clearinghouse products offer overall
guidance for new election officials in conducting elections
such as improving chain of custody procedures, auditing, and
better serving voters with disabilities.
This includes our new election management guidelines
updated with increased focus on relevant election technologies
that have changed since the last iteration 15 years ago. All
the products developed by the clearinghouse division are guided
by the parameters set forth by HAVA. In the coming weeks, the
EAC will publish a 1922 EAVS report.
This will be the 10th survey since the first EAVS in 2004.
This biennial report is the agency's flagship research
initiative and collects data on Election Administration from
nearly 6,500 local election jurisdictions across the 50 states,
the District of Columbia, and territories. EAVS data is
utilized by countless stakeholders in the election community,
including Members of Congress, legislative staff, federal
officials, journalists, academics, advocates, and election
officials.
The EAVS consists of two surveys collecting quantitative
information on state election laws, policies, and practices,
and the other collection, quantitative election administration
data. The '22 EAVS survey used questions on issues such as drop
box usage, mail ballot curing, and more. In addition, the EAC
is committed to continuing our support of election officials as
they fulfill requirements of both HAVA and the Americans with
Disabilities Act to ensure our elections are fully accessible.
We have hired a full-time subject matter expert for
accessibility, established an internal accessibility working
group, continued
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EAVS data election, EAC research on disability related voting
issues, and expanded our accessibility, resources, and
programs.
The EAC is working on a national study to document the
experience of voters with disabilities for the 2022 midterms.
The survey results will be finalized this summer and will
include key information on voter access. The Commission intends
to use these results to produce actionable items that are
necessary to meet HAVA's vision of fully accessible elections.
Amongst numerous other resources of voting accessibility,
EAC has released a checklist for election officials and
accessibility for in-person voting, for registration vote by
mail, and assistance for voters with language access needs.
The language access resources were updated following the
most recent release of Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act
requirements, which required 330 jurisdictions to produce
language accessibility resources for voters. This inclusive
vision of HAVA calls on the EAC to assist election officials
and voters as we embrace the mission wholeheartedly.
Similarly, the nonpartisan approach of the election
administrators have continued to promote confidence in
elections and voting, while advocating civility throughout the
American electoral process.
With the 2024 election cycle already here, election
officials face an ever growing list of responsibilities and
challenges, including escalation of threats to election
officials and poll workers. The EAC is working diligently to
help them prepare for the expected and unexpected, in order to
provide the best voting experiences for every voter.
Thank you for the opportunity to share some of the work of
the EAC, and your commitment to election administrators, poll
workers, and voters. There is still work to be done and we look
forward to working closely with you on these and other
important matters.
I appreciate the chance to testify today and welcome any
questions or feedback you may have.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Hicks was submitted for the
record.]
Senator Welch. We have just had an excellent presentation
by all the witnesses and----
Chairwoman Klobuchar. I would have them do it again----
[Laughter.]
Senator Welch. Well, what they--what I wanted to
acknowledge was that they clearly sort of spread out the
information so that we were getting a comprehensive view of
what it is they have been doing, what the challenges are. I
just, on your behalf and the Committee's behalf, want to thank
all the Commissioners for your good work. Now, Senator
Klobuchar, I would like to defer to you.
Chairwoman Klobuchar. Well, that is actually okay, because
I just got here. I will let Senator Fischer ask some questions.
Go ahead. Okay.
Senator Welch. Well, thank you. You know, one of the areas
of real concern, I think, for all of us is this disinformation
and just how that has all escalated. We saw evidence of it in
past elections, but now everyone is concerned about AI.
[[Page 12]]
One of the mediums by which bad information, as well as
good information, is transmitted is through some of these
platforms. These platforms, the large tech companies are, as I
understand it, starting to lay--they are doing layoffs and I do
not have the information, but I have the apprehension that many
of these layoffs are targeted to those functions that had to do
with monitoring misinformation.
Just as an example, Twitter, of course, sets a special
case. It effectively disbanded its ethical AI team. In January,
Meta reported that it ended the contracts of about 200 content
moderators and laid off at least 60 members of Instagram's
well-being group in more than 100 positions--laid off--that
related to trust, integrity, and responsibility. In February,
Google laid off about a third of its staff with protecting
society from misinformation, radicalization, and censorship.
In Twitch, there are about 50 employees who came out of
that division. Since we do rely, so many Americans, on social
media for our information, that could be an issue with the
capacity of more disinformation to get out.
I will start, Chairwoman McCormick, with you and ask you
what kind of challenges have local election administrators seen
with the spread of information? Is it a situation where the EAC
can provide support or guidance to tech companies to combat
misinformation? If not, does it have a plan to do that?
Ms. McCormick. Thank you for the question, Senator. Yes,
the EAC has heard from local election officials and state
officials on instances where bad information or misinformation,
disinformation has been provided on social media platforms.
We continue to urge people to go to a trusted source, such
as a local or state elections administrator, to get their
information. We also have started an internal AI working group.
This is obviously a very new issue that is coming up of great
concern.
We have been having discussions with both CISA and our
federal partners on how we might combat the mis and
disinformation, especially with AI, which is, of course, going
to be quite complicated and challenging. We also provide
toolkits for election officials.
We have a Communicating Elections Process Toolkit, which
includes posters and samples, social media updates, and all
kinds of information that we urge the state and local election
officials to utilize in communicating with their voters--the
actual true information.
The EAC stands by with our facts and our EAVS report, and
we are happy to provide that to anybody who asks, including
social media platforms.
Senator Welch. Thank you. Now, one other question. In
Vermont, the Secretary of State's office did launch a site
called, ``Elections Myth versus Fact,'' and it was a web page
intended directly to combat disinformation.
I am going to ask you, Commissioner Palmer, whether you
think efforts like that can be effective and do you recommend
other states adopt them? That is knowing that it has got to be
rigidly nonpartisan in order to have credibility.
But voters, whether you are going to vote for a
conservative or liberal, I think all of us want to know that
the information we are
[[Page 13]]
acting on is accurate. Is that--that step that Vermont has
taken, is that anything that you have thoughts about, whether
that can be helpful elsewhere?
Mr. Palmer. That is absolutely a best practice, Senator
Welch. This goes back decades for election officials, there is
all types of rumors out there or incorrect information.
If you have a myth buster or rumor buster, it is important
that the election official provide the true information in a
very nonpartisan, down-the-middle road. Just the facts. That is
exactly what, you know, we did when I was in Florida and in
Virginia.
It is the same thing that the EAC does with our frequently
asked questions and sort of the issues that Chairwoman
McCormick brought up is that, you know, we are very much
involved in the testing and standard development of voting
systems and how those machines work.
We provide the facts on our website, and we also answer
questions from reporters and all types of groups that have
questions about that process, including the public. We just do
the best we can to propagate that message, sir.
Senator Welch. Okay. Thank you very much. I would like to
now yield to Senator Fischer.
Senator Fischer. Thank you, Senator Welch. Chair McCormick,
I wanted to ask some questions about grant funds, and
specifically on the HAVA grants. How do you oversee the
reporting on the use of those funds? What reports, financial
documents does the EAC require of states? What types of issues
does the EAC look for in its review as you are going through
the reports and documents?
Ms. McCormick. Thank you, Senator Fischer. The EAC requires
completion of the federal financial reports and also progress
reports no less than twice a year. This recent tranche of money
that was provided to the states requires quarterly reports. We
require all states who have received grants to fill out those
reports to us.
Our grants team looks for incompletion on those reports.
They look for possible increases or decreases in funding that
seem odd. We also look for whether there are any uses of the
money that are disallowed under HAVA. We look for insufficient
information about what they are doing.
There is a number of issues that--a checklist of issues
that we look at. We communicate those concerns to the
jurisdiction. We give them a chance to update and correct their
financial reports. But we also do follow-up with them to make
sure that the funds are being used appropriately.
Senator Fischer. When you find an issue there, and you went
through a number of red flags that come up, and you contact
them, how much follow-up does it take before you get an answer
sometimes, you know, and to try and rectify the problem? What
is the kind of process there?
Ms. McCormick. Well, we start with an email, and we email
the officials on the findings that we are concerned about, and
we give them a chance to respond to that. We follow-up as much
as we need to, including in person, if possible. We have had
issues where that has not been possible, but that is, you know,
we continue to follow-up as much as we need to, either through
writing, through telephone calls.
[[Page 14]]
Our grant staff is on, you know--basically they are there
to help people work through those issues and fix any issues
that may have come up.
Senator Fischer. You know, if there was a report out from
the IG, there were some issues in the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands with their accounting and reporting on
the grants, did you learn any lessons from that? Is there
something that could have helped prevent that situation?
Ms. McCormick. Yes, Senator. I think part of the problem
was the Northern Mariana Islands had not been traditional
recipients of HAVA grants. They had not been through the
training and sort of the work that the other states had been
through. I think it would have been helpful to have an in-
person training with them. They are very new to this.
They are also new election officials themselves. We did
follow-up with them numerous times in many different ways.
Obviously, the pandemic precluded anybody from going out to
visit the Northern Mariana Islands. But I believe that an in-
person training and in-person guidance would have helped that
situation.
Senator Fischer. Do you see an issue there? You know, in my
opening statement, I talked about the retirements we are seeing
of poll workers and retention issues that we have. How does
that affect your job for oversight? You know, I think this is a
great example that you are going to have to do a lot of
educating, maybe.
Ms. McCormick. Yes. This is where we do a lot of educating,
and this is where all of our clearinghouse products have come
into play. We have updated what we call the election management
guidelines, which is basically a textbook for election
officials on the basic issues that they need to know in
election administration.
We have got QuickStart guides. We have got numerous
products to help the new election officials. As well, we are
going out to as many state conferences as we can, and talking
to the new officials, and trying to provide them with whatever
information we can to help get them up to speed, because we
will have somewhere between a third and a half of new election
administrators coming up in 2024.
Senator Fischer. Right. Vice Chair Hovland, we have seen
that the GAO--you have told the GAO that the electronic system,
it used for states to submit CARES Act progress reports,
allowed the states to omit or miscalculate some of their
expenditure totals.
In the financial section of the progress report, officials
told GAO that the system does not have the capability to
automatically calculate a state's total expenditures based on
the expenditures listed in different categories. Have you
addressed that issue?
Mr. Hovland. You know, we were in the process of
implementing a new system to help streamline the process in
grant reporting.
Of course, you know, with any new system, there are bumps
along the way. But we are reviewing all that, and certainly our
grant staff can get back to you with any specifics or to your
staff.
Senator Fischer. Yes, I would appreciate that. It seems
like a pretty high number that it may involve nearly 20 percent
of the total reported nationwide spending for CARES Act grant
funds and
[[Page 15]]
just in how they were categorized on that. If we can get you a
question in detail, if you could get back to us, I would
appreciate that.
Mr. Hovland. Absolutely.
Senator Fischer. Thank you.
Chairwoman Klobuchar. Very good. I want to thank, first of
all, Senator Welch for filling in. For a new guy, he is doing
pretty well. Only in Congress are you considered new when you
have been here for, what, 18 years? Then also my friend,
Senator Fischer, thank you.
I just want to briefly say how important the work you do
is. As we know, the EAC was established with broad bipartisan
support to help states improve election administration
security, cybersecurity guidelines--very important in the last
few decades--and accessibility for voters. I hear time and time
again from Secretaries of State on both sides of the aisle how
important the work that you do is.
We know you are confronting new challenges ahead, with
everything from artificial intelligence to the challenge I know
you have been hearing, as I have heard from our local
officials, of harassment of Secretaries of State and volunteers
at election places and election officials regardless of party.
I guess I would start with you, Vice Chair Hovland, since
you used to work for me. Can you briefly expand on what you see
as the most urgent needs of states for additional federal
funding?
Mr. Hovland. Absolutely. Thank you, Chairwoman Klobuchar.
You know, right now, I think the election community really just
faces so many challenges. As I said in my opening statement, I
think election administration is more challenging, or it is--it
is more challenging to administer elections now than it has
ever been and more expensive. More than one singular issue, I
think it is the totality of issues.
There are the cybersecurity issues. There is the physical
threats and harassment, you know, adding to buildings and the
security of buildings. Obviously incentivizing recruitment of
poll workers. Senator Welch asked about mis and disinformation
earlier. You know, one of the things I think about all the
time, you know, there is two sides of that coin.
There is the whack-a-mole of the falsehoods that you hear,
but there is also the voter education piece. Often voter
education falls to the back burner, but that is an integral
part of combating misinformation with those debunking pieces.
Getting people money to make sure they have the resources
to do that is critical.
Chairwoman Klobuchar. Okay, very good. Commissioner Hicks
and Chairwoman McCormick, talk about the importance of steady
funding and how that would be helpful for the states when you
deal with different threats. It appears in every election.
Mr. Hicks. Thank you, Senator Klobuchar. It is great to see
you. Having steady funding ensures that states can allow for an
adequate budget each and every election cycle. We know that
there is going to be a lot of additional costs that are coming
down the pike for election officials who want to replace their
voting equipment with 2.0 voting equipment.
[[Page 16]]
That will probably not be ready for 2024, but as they look
toward doing their budgets, they will need a significant amount
of money to replace those machines. Every election cycle there
is something that may come up that they did not budget for, and
so they have to look back to see what sort of things they need
to pay for as they move forward.
No one saw 2020 coming along with the pandemic, but
Congress stepped up and provided additional funding to the
states----
Chairwoman Klobuchar. Senator Blunt, as we remember,
predecessor to our Ranking Member, also was stepping up at that
time.
Mr. Hicks. Exactly----
Chairwoman Klobuchar. Very good. You are talking about
election equipment, you do not know what will be needed for
each election. Maybe, because I want to give my colleagues time
here, we have several of them here, could we just turn to that
election threat issue?
We have heard from Kentucky Secretary of State, just the
difficulty of attracting volunteers sometimes to work the polls
and just where you see this coming out. Rural areas not having
the funding for as many law enforcement to help volunteer
workers at the polls.
Ms. McCormick. Absolutely, Senator. We--there has been an
uptick in safety and security issues across the country.
Consistent funding would be quite helpful to the states to be
able to provide more security for their election workers.
We also want to make sure that the public trusts where the
funds are coming from. I think obviously Congress is a trusted
source of funding, so there are many reasons for Congress to
continue to provide consistent funding for elections.
Chairwoman Klobuchar. Okay, very good. You want to add
anything, Commissioner Palmer?
Mr. Palmer. I agree with my fellow Commissioners and do not
have anything to add.
Chairwoman Klobuchar. Oh, wow, that is not what we do
around here, so that is very good. Well, I want to thank all of
you for your leadership. I know it is a tribute to how
important your work is that we have so many Senators here, and
I will turn it over to Senator Hagerty.
Senator Hagerty. Thank you, Chair Klobuchar and Ranking
Member Fischer. Thank you, Senator Welch, for getting us
started off here today. Vice Chair Hovland, I would like to
start with you. The Commission believes transparency with
respect to its work is important for voter confidence and
nonpartisan election administration. Is that correct?
Mr. Hovland. Yes, Senator.
Senator Hagerty. Thank you. I am sure you are familiar with
President Biden's Executive Order number 14019 that directs
federal agencies to submit plans to the White House for using
taxpayer resources to expand mail-in ballots and voter
mobilization. The White House refuses to release these agency
plans.
For me, this raises significant concerns about the Biden
Administration's voter mobilization plans perhaps being used to
help President Biden in his next election. My question for you,
you agreed
[[Page 17]]
earlier that transparency regarding election administration is
important. For that reason, do you support releasing these
plans?
Mr. Hovland. We are an independent agency, and so I am not
in a position to tell the White House what to do, you know. But
I think that a piece of election administration that is
critical, and one of the challenges we have seen a lot of, is
about----
Senator Hagerty. Let me come back to this, I sent a letter
to President Biden, along with every other Republican Member of
this Committee, requesting that they release these plans. A
month has passed and there has been no response.
If there is nothing to hide, these plans should be
released. It is very disturbing. Let us go to a different
topic, though. I would like to change gears and talk about the
United States Alliance for Election Excellence. Are you
familiar with that?
Mr. Hovland. Somewhat.
Senator Hagerty. Well, for the rest of our Members, this is
an $80 million initiative funded by a web of left-wing entities
to, ``help local election administrators conduct elections.''
It is a new form of Zuckerbucks is what it is.
It is connected with the Democracy Fund and Arabella
Advisors. Arabella Advisors heads up a massive network of left-
wing nonprofits that pulled in nearly $2 billion per year in
2020 and in 2021. That is a massive amount of dark money
influence in our elections.
This network of entities has received tens, if not hundreds
of millions of dollars from a foreign billionaire named
Hansjorg Wyss. He is not a United States citizen, so he cannot
contribute directly to our elections, but he has found a way to
be involved in our elections.
Is it concerning to you, Vice Chair Hovland, that a foreign
actor is heavily influencing private groups that are,
``assisting American local Governments with election
administration''?
Mr. Hovland. You know, I testified before the House
Appropriations Committee in 2021, and I was asked about the
Zuckerberg, Chan contributions. At the time, I noted that, you
know, I do not believe that elections should be supported, or
election funding should be dependent on the charity of
billionaires----
Senator Hagerty. How about foreign billionaires?
Mr. Hovland. But I believe----
Senator Hagerty. Can you answer me that? What about foreign
billionaires?
Mr. Hovland. I do not think any billionaires should be--our
election administrators should not be dependent on any
financing from billionaires. But it is a failure of Government
if we do not provide them with sufficient funds.
Senator Hagerty. Let me ask you this----
Mr. Hovland. I have talked to so many election----
Senator Hagerty. Do you support foreign donations for
United States election administration?
Mr. Hovland. I do not. But it is also not our purview
personally----
Senator Hagerty. That is good to hear.
Mr. Hovland. But sir----
[[Page 18]]
Senator Hagerty. Would it be foreign election interference
in your mind?
Mr. Hovland. Senator, there were people in 2020 who were
using those charitable contributions for their personal safety.
They were putting their lives on the line. That was used for
PPE and hand sanitizer----
Senator Hagerty. Foreign donations are okay with you then?
Mr. Hovland. Absolutely not. Of course not.
Senator Hagerty. Okay. I want to be clear of that then
because what this is----
Mr. Hovland. My point is----
Senator Hagerty [continuing]. Zuckerberg bucks 2.0----
Mr. Hovland [continuing]. that the Government failed to
provide that funding.
Senator Hagerty. Coming from a foreign born billionaire
involving themselves in our elections--what I want to make
certain is that this Commission--that no Election Assistance
Commission dollars are co-mingled in any way with these foreign
funds.
Mr. Hovland. Of course not, sir. We provide funds----
Senator Hagerty. You can guarantee me that that will not--
these funds will not be co-mingled with our funds?
Mr. Hovland. We provide the money that Congress provides to
us in formula grants as prescribed by the Help America Vote Act
and the appropriations bills that are passed. We follow the
law, absolutely.
Senator Hagerty. I will look forward to seeing a plan from
you, and I would like for you to submit that to this Committee,
of how you are going to ensure that these foreign funds coming
in are in no way co-mingled or supporting the same election
activities at the local level.
Mr. Hovland. Sir, we do not have--as you know, elections
are very decentralized in this country. It is up to each state
and locality on the funds that they are able to accept. Our job
is to distribute the funds from Congress.
We are proud to do that. We hear regularly from state and
local administrators that they need additional funding, that
they need regular funding, and we would welcome those dollars
from Congress to support those officials adequately.
Senator Hagerty. Certainly not from foreign billionaires.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
Chairwoman Klobuchar. Thank you very much. Just to clarify,
Vice Chair, the funding during those 2020 elections was used in
both red and blue states, and it was focused on adapting to
holding an election during a pandemic. Is that part of this
funding?
Mr. Hovland. You are referring to the charitable
contributions?
Chairwoman Klobuchar. Yes.
Mr. Hovland. Yes, that is my understanding.
Chairwoman Klobuchar. Okay. What you are saying here is
that if the State Governments had the adequate funding to run
elections, that that would be very helpful.
Mr. Hovland. Absolutely.
Chairwoman Klobuchar. Okay. Thank you. Senator Padilla.
Senator Padilla. Thank you, Madam Chair. Also, just to
before I get to my questions, clarify, I want to make sure that
the Record
[[Page 19]]
accurately reflects Commissioner Hovland's response to whether
or not he supports foreign donations into our election
administration. Without me interrupting, can you reiterate your
answer for the record?
Mr. Hovland. I personally do not, though it is not in the
purview of the Election Assistance Commission.
Senator Padilla. Thank you very much. I just want to say
hello again to all of you. I had a chance to not just talk but
visit with, and ask conferences, or even welcomed you to
California in my prior capacity as California Secretary of
State.
A lot of timely issues to discuss from. I know that Senator
Welch already engaged in the threats of election
misinformation, disinformation topic. We have referenced poll
worker safety. I know the Chair has been a leader in that
regard. Recruitment, retention, and security for volunteer poll
workers, elections staff at the state and local levels, and
beyond. The need to upgrade our voting systems nationally.
Not just VVSG and setting the standards but helping
jurisdictions with those infrastructure improvements. Speaking
of infrastructure, I know there is a desire for additional
funding for our elections. I support that. Not just one time,
not just once in a generation. It has been too long since HAVA.
But ongoing, sustained funding that reflects the fact that
our elections infrastructure is now designated as critical
infrastructure by the United States Government and has been for
several cycles now. But I want to really focus my questions to
the Chair--Chair McCormick. You have claimed to have personally
witnessed voter fraud and seen data supporting the assertion
that voting fraud is threatening our elections.
What data have you seen? It would be great for you to share
that with this Committee.
Ms. McCormick. I believe there are several reports out
there, Senator. I personally witnessed it while I was observing
in an election in Mississippi many years ago. That is not to
say that fraud is a huge problem. I think it is probably pretty
minimal, but I think it is important that we have accuracy and
integrity in our elections.
Senator Padilla. Okay. When you witnessed that was that
reported, was that prosecuted?
Ms. McCormick. Yes, that was recorded by the Department of
Justice in the observer reports, and I was with the observers
from OPM who witnessed it. It was part of a case in
Mississippi, United States v. Ike Brown.
Senator Padilla. Okay. I hope folks are held accountable
for that. Chair McCormick, do you view vote by mail as a secure
method of voting?
Ms. McCormick. Well, being a new resident of California,
yes, sir. I have voted--my last election, I voted by mail for
the first time.
Senator Padilla. Did you sign up for ballot tracking?
Ms. McCormick. I have not signed up for ballot tracking.
Senator Padilla. I highly encourage you to. Go to
www.sos.ca.gov.
[[Page 20]]
Ms. McCormick. Yes. I will give Registrar Logan a call and
ask him to sign me up.
[Laughter.]
Senator Padilla. He cannot do it for you. You have got to
do it yourself.
Ms. McCormick. I understand, sir.
Senator Padilla. Do you view automatic voter registration
as a safe method to increase registration and turnout?
Ms. McCormick. Sir, I think that is a good way to do it.
However, I think we need to give a good option for people to
opt-out if they do not want to be automatically registered.
There are groups in this country that do not want to vote.
Some religious groups and others. I believe in automated
registration. I think it is a good tool to register folks who
have not been registered previously and give them an
opportunity to do that.
Senator Padilla. To the extent that it has been implemented
in multiple states, I do believe that is the option. There is a
significant difference in opt-in versus opt-out, but it is not
mandatory voter registration, just like we do not have mandated
voting.
People do deserve the option. We highly encourage people
who are eligible to register to maintain their registration
record current and to vote in every single election. I just
state this because I know there is a tremendous amount of
research on this topic that points in the exact same direction.
Voter fraud is exceedingly rare. This includes voter
impersonation, mail-in ballots, and more. In fact, mail-in
ballots are both secure and essential for secure elections that
are as accessible to voters as possible.
I hate to have continue to raise this year after year,
cycle after cycle, but the misinformation, disinformation about
the integrity of elections, the integrity of election
administrators, and elections workers continues to be under
attack, and we need to take every opportunity we can to set the
record straight. Thank you very much.
Chairwoman Klobuchar. Thank you very, very much, Senator
Padilla. Senator Ossoff.
Senator Ossoff. Thank you, Madam Chair. Vice Chair Hovland,
I want to touch on something we have seen, particularly in
Georgia over the last few cycles, which is the partisan and
malicious and frivolous use of voter challenges to tie up
county election boards. These challenges are often filed by
groups that are spreading baseless conspiracy theories about
widespread voter fraud.
Just a few numbers for the panel. In 2022 across just eight
counties of 159 in Georgia, there were 65,000 challenges to
voter registration. In Gwinnett County alone in 2022, one group
called Voter GA challenged the registrations of 37,500 voters.
In December 2020, Madam Chair, if you can wrap your head
around this, one group, and this is during the Senate runoffs
in which I was elected, one group called True the Vote
challenged 364,000 voter registrations across the State of
Georgia.
My understanding is that two or three dozen folks who had
perhaps moved or change residency may have been disqualified--
364,000 challenges to voter registration coordinated by one par
[[Page 21]]
tisan group during a crucial Senate runoff. I know, Vice Chair,
you are not here to comment on policy.
Georgia's state legislature passed a law in their two
sessions ago that made it much easier for anyone to bring
unlimited challenges of their fellow citizens' voter
registration. What I want to ask you is this.
How does it impact a county election board already
stretched thin already? I think we can all agree, regrettably,
in relying upon funding other than from the state in many
cases, just to cover the basics, already perhaps unable to fill
enough polling places, already having difficulty dealing with
all of their responsibilities.
How does it impact a county election board when they
suddenly get tens of thousands of frivolous challenges to the
registrations of voters in that county?
Mr. Hovland. Thank you, Senator, for the question. I would
say I am recently returned from Georgia, where I met with folks
from the Secretary's Office, as well as Fulton County and the
Athens Clark County Unified Government.
You know, I think when you look at the issues sort of
broadly, and again, I will not comment on the Georgia specific
issue there, but what we are seeing across the country are, you
know, again, based on mis and disinformation, sort of offices
being inundated with tasks.
Again, election offices are often very limited in the
number of staff they have. You know, when I think about some of
the challenges they face when they have this kind of impact,
you know, there is only so many hours in the day and that time
is such a valuable commodity.
When something that would normally get triple checked only
gets double checked, that creates more opportunity for error,
and you have the potential to create a self-fulfilling prophecy
that you do see these human mistakes that happen in elections,
but simply because people were overtaxed based on inquiries
around false information.
Senator Ossoff. A large number of frivolous voter
challenges can tie up the resources of a local election board,
correct?
Mr. Hovland. Certainly.
Senator Ossoff. They can distract those resources from
administering the election, correct?
Mr. Hovland. Yes.
Senator Ossoff. They can make it more difficult, therefore,
for voters to access the franchise because the election
administrators are tied up dealing with a torrent of frivolous
challenges, correct?
Mr. Hovland. That is certainly possible.
Senator Ossoff. I just think, I will just close Madam Chair
by sort of making the point, what does it say about where we
have come to in terms of the level of polarization in this
society and the scorched earth politics of victory by any means
that people are reduced for obviously partisan reasons to
trying to disenfranchise their own neighbors on false
pretenses, or try to tie up already stretched thin election
administration resources by saying, you know what we are going
to take a blunt instrument here and just say, there might be
hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens,
[[Page 22]]
we want to make it harder for them to vote, with no base for
the challenge whatsoever.
It is a deeply immoral practice, and the fact that
Georgia's state legislature has explicitly sanctioned it, I
think is repugnant. I will yield. Thank you.
Chairwoman Klobuchar. Thank you very much, Senator Ossoff.
Do you want to add any other questions? Yes, go ahead, Senator
Fischer.
Senator Fischer. Thank you, Chairwoman Klobuchar. I have
some questions on cybersecurity and the preparedness that we
are looking at there.
I know that the EAC recently adopted the VVSG 2.0, marking
the first major changes to the standards in many years. Could
you please elaborate, Chair McCormick, on how the VVSG has been
updated to address any cybersecurity threats that we are
facing? If you see any risks to the electoral process, if a
state decides not to use an EAC certified voting system?
Ms. McCormick. Thank you for the question, Senator Fischer.
Yes, with the new VVSG 2.0, we have numerous additional
requirements over 1.0 and 1.1 for security measures, including
the elimination of transmission by wired or wireless
capabilities. We are now going to be requiring penetration
testing.
We have more auditability of the machines, more
requirements on auditability. We are requiring the use of
modern encryption. We are also requiring software independence
so that the software cannot change the vote totals on its own
without it being detected by the machinery.
Most important is that we try to get as many states as
possible using our more secure standards. We are also going to
be requiring, I do not know if I mentioned this, penetration
testing of our systems.
As far as the risks to the electoral process, most states
use some portion of our standards or our laboratories. We do
not test for all the states, but we do provide documentation
and information for the states that do their own certification.
Obviously, you know, we have scope of conformance products
that we will share. We are very willing to provide as much
information as we can to the states who do not use our systems
to be able to evaluate the security of the systems that they
are working on.
Senator Fischer. You know, and we have seen an increase in
those cybersecurity threats over the past several years. In
2020, the EAC launched the Cyber Access and Security Program to
help address the issue.
Since the implementation of that program, how have election
officials utilized the offerings? Do you see officials having
pretty good buy-in for this, and does the program stay up to
date when we have this constantly evolving space?
Ms. McCormick. Yes, obviously we need to stay on top of all
of the current threats. I mean, it is a never ending project to
stay ahead of the bad guys. Our CAS program has been utilized
by election officials in 49 states.
We have trained over 1,100 election officials, and we are
currently working on producing a security component for e-poll
books
[[Page 23]]
and our evaluation pilot. We are working toward guidelines for
all of the election supporting technology and the CAS program
at the EAC as part of that.
Senator Fischer. Do you think the electronic poll books,
you just brought those up, is going to help further protect
election infrastructure? Is it going to be able to enhance that
security?
Ms. McCormick. Yes. E-poll books are connected to the
internet, so it is important that we have high security
measures on them. We do----
Senator Fischer. But isn't one of the things we do not want
is to be connected to the internet?
Ms. McCormick. Well, there is a reason why they are
connected, and that is to make sure that voters are not voting
in multiple places. We have to be able to be assured that, you
know, if somebody is checking in----
Senator Fischer. Does that put in jeopardy the entire
system, or is it--?
Ms. McCormick. No, they are separate from the voting
systems. They usually are just checking in to register to get a
ballot and to provide the correct ballot. We usually do that
by--e-poll books use usually driver's licenses. You know, they
swipe those driver's licenses, but there is usually a
connection----
Senator Fischer. But it has nothing to do with the voting
machines?
Ms. McCormick. No, they are not connected to it.
Senator Fischer. I think that needs to be made clear
because there is deep concern about anything that is connected
to the internet.
Ms. McCormick. Yes.
Senator Fischer. The possibility that could be hacked in
any way.
Ms. McCormick. Yes. We are, you know, we ask election
officials to ensure there is an air gap between any kind of
system that is connected to the internet, with the voting
systems, so that the voting systems are not affected by, you
know, any kind of internet connection.
Senator Fischer. Right. Thank you very much.
Chairwoman Klobuchar. All right. Well, thank you. I am sure
we will keep the record open of the hearing for a week for--if
our colleagues have other questions. You have all done very,
very well. I want to thank Ranking Member Fischer, as well as
Senator Welch, the Members of the Committee.
I also want to thank the Commissioners for sharing your
testimony on the work that you do. While you may come from
different political backgrounds, we see the consistent themes
of wanting to wanting to make sure that our states' elections
are well administered, that there is funding for those state
administrators and the administration of elections, and that
the elections officials there are protected so that they can do
their jobs, in addition to responding to the many new
challenges that we are all seeing in many aspects of American
life.
But always, elections are kind of the canary in the coal
mine when it comes to where you have, whether it is foreign
interference or whether it is threats. We want to make sure
that the funda
[[Page 24]]
mental reason we are all here, our democracy. The reason I met
with 300 interns for Democratic and Republican Members of
Congress today, who are all so eager, some of them may be here,
to be part of this democracy. The reason we all get up every
morning. You really--I want to thank you for guiding us there.
I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues on
the Committee to support this Commission, the work that you do.
The hearing is adjourned. Thank you.
[Whereupon, at 4:45 p.m., the hearing was adjourned.]
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