[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 12 (Thursday, January 21, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S89]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CITIZENS COMMITTEE FOR ELECTION INTEGRITY

  Mr. RISCH. Madam President, along with my colleague Senator Mike 
Crapo, I rise today to ask unanimous consent to have printed in the 
Record the mission statement for the Citizens Committee for Election 
Integrity and their recommended minimum standards for fair and honest 
elections. Idahoans concerned about election integrity formed the 
Citizens Committee for Election Integrity to demonstrate the meaning of 
the Constitution by helping ensure the voices of ``We the people'' are 
heard.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

       The Citizens Committee for Election Integrity's mission 
     statement reads as follows:
       All political power rests with the people.
       Our Constitutionally guaranteed republican form of 
     government relies on free, fair, and honest elections to 
     select our representatives and leaders.
       To ensure equal protection and equal representation of the 
     people, laws governing our elections must meet certain 
     minimum standards.
       It is the purpose of this Citizens Committee to concisely 
     articulate the minimum standards for free, fair, and honest 
     elections. These standards shall then be used by our local, 
     state and federal legislators as a metric for reviewing and 
     revising election law to ensure free, fair, and honest 
     elections where the outcome is accepted by all citizens of 
     good will.
       On January 2, 2021, the committee met at the Idaho State 
     Capitol to recommend the following minimum standards for fair 
     and honest elections:
       Our Constitutionally guaranteed republican form of 
     government relies on free, fair, and honest elections to 
     select our representatives and leaders.
       The standards listed here shall be used by our local, state 
     and federal legislators as a metric for reviewing and 
     revising election law to ensure free, fair, and honest 
     elections where the outcome is accepted by all citizens of 
     good will.
       1. All voting processes, other than those needed to 
     preserve the privacy of a citizen's vote, must be open and 
     available for direct observation, with no minimum distance 
     requirements, and audit by agents of the candidates or 
     parties.
       2. All election materials must have a secure chain of 
     custody at all times. Election officials must be accompanied 
     by observers when accessing any election materials. Records 
     of the chain of custody shall be complete and available for 
     audit.
       3. All votes, regardless of voting method, shall be held to 
     equal standards.
       4. Voters shall only be qualified electors that are able to 
     verifiably provide their government issued photo identity 
     before being issued a ballot. Voters who provide false 
     information, including information of voter qualification, 
     should face severe penalties.
       5. As a condition of being issued a ballot, the voter's 
     identity and signature must be recorded in a permanent record 
     (Poll Book).
       6. Original Ballots must have a physical form that allows 
     voting choices to be examined and properly interpreted by the 
     naked eye.
       7. Ballots must have features designed to prevent 
     counterfeiting.
       8. An auditable system for tracking the status of all 
     ballots must be implemented and maintained in the State of 
     origin. The total number of printed ballots must equal the 
     sum of the number of cast ballots, spoiled ballots, and 
     unvoted ballots.
       9. Ballot tabulation must be conducted by two independent 
     and unrelated systems. The difference in totals between the 
     two systems must be less than one half the margin of victory 
     or 0.1% of the vote total, whichever is less. Tabulating 
     machines must only tabulate and not modify ballots in any 
     way, or be connected to the internet.
       10. Before the results of an election can be certified, the 
     ballot counts must be reconciled with the voter records. The 
     margin of uncertainty must be less than one half the margin 
     of victory or 0.1% of the vote total, whichever is less.
       11. Lists of qualified electors must be purged of 
     unqualified persons 180 days before an election. Voter Rolls 
     should be vetted and compared with available government 
     records to identify duplicate or ineligible registrations.
       12. Laws and regulations governing an election may not be 
     changed for 180 days prior to that election.
       13. All election records should be retained and preserved 
     for not less than 22 months.
       14. Voter identification for provisional ballots must be 
     verified, with information provided by the voter, prior to 
     that ballot being counted.

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