[Senate Hearing 118-047]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                        S. Hrg. 118-047

                     OVERSIGHT OF THE UNITED STATES
                     ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION

=======================================================================

                                HEARING

                               BEFORE THE

                 COMMITTEE ON RULES AND ADMINISTRATION
                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                    ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION

                               __________

                              JUNE 7, 2023

                               __________

    Printed for the use of the Committee on Rules and Administration
    
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]    


                  Available on http://www.govinfo.gov

                              __________

                                
                    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

                              ----------                              
                                                                  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

                              ----------                              


                        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

[[Page 2]]

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.

[[Page 3]]

  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

[[Page 4]]

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.

[[Page 5]]

  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.

[[Page 6]]

    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.

[[Page 7]]

    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.

[[Page 8]]

    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.

[[Page 9]]

    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.

[[Page 10]]

    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

[[Page 11]]

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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