[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 49 (Tuesday, March 16, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E254]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         U.S. ELECTION PRACTICES: AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 16, 2021

  Mr. HASTINGS. Madam Speaker, this chamber recently passed H.R. I, the 
``For the People Act,'' significant legislation making it easier for 
American citizens to vote in U.S. elections and improve transparency 
and accountability in our election process. The White House also 
recently announced a new executive order to assist this effort. These 
are positive developments that I welcome and support, but, as we all 
know, not everything regarding the conduct of elections can be done at 
the federal level. Unfortunately, many state legislatures are now 
undertaking efforts that would make it more difficult for eligible 
Americans to participate in the electoral process and vote.
  As Chair and in the leadership of the Helsinki Commission, I have 
supported the positive steps we are trying to take on this issue, yet I 
remain deeply concerned about those who want to move our country 
backward.
  Perhaps it would help our debate to look at the conduct of the 2020 
U.S. elections from an international perspective, including the conduct 
of elections in conformity with international commitments first 
proposed and advocated by the United States more than 30 years ago.
  The United States has been one of five countries thus far where the 
OSCE Parliamentary Assembly has observed elections during the 
unprecedented challenges of the pandemic, and a German parliamentarian 
reported on its findings on February 26. He did not point fingers at us 
and accuse. He mentioned the positive as well as the negative. He is 
clearly a friend who cares, as most of the OSCE observers undoubtedly 
were.
  As a previous election observer in the OSCE region, I can also 
attest, that the code of conduct makes it is extremely unlikely that 
the OSCE election observation could be steered in support of any 
particular agenda other than better democracy.
  I therefore want to commend to my colleagues the full OSCE Final 
report ``United States of America General Elections, 3 November 2020, 
ODIHR Limited Election Observation Mission'', which can be found at 
https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/7/7/477823_2.pdf. It offers an 
important perspective on our elections from persons who rightly care 
about the process, not the result. They have observed not only our 
elections since 2002 but elections in dozens of other countries on a 
regular basis.
  The issues raised in the report are the same issues we Americans 
debate here in Washington, in our state capitals and through the media. 
I take the conclusions and recommendations, including criticisms, in 
this election observation report seriously. It serves as a helpful 
guide on what next steps we should take to improve our electoral 
system. I believe our election officials and state legislators should 
read this report; indeed, I recommend it to any American who cares 
about his or her country. It is a broad snapshot of our entire, complex 
electoral system.
  Several of the priority recommendations in the report deal with 
voting rights and voter identification. Specifically, it says that 
``authorities should review existing measures to further reduce the 
number of unregistered voters, including addressing burdensome 
procedures and obstacles faced by disadvantaged groups.'' It also says 
that ``states should make every effort to ensure that voter 
identification requirements are equally accessible to all voters.'' It 
also makes specific recommendations regarding specific groups of 
American citizens.
  We do not need to agree about every conclusion and recommendation in 
this report to take it seriously. It is a contribution to our debates 
from a unique perspective. Moreover, our acceptance of international 
observation serves a useful function in our foreign policy. OSCE 
election observation has encouraged practices giving voters a real 
choice in numerous other countries, many of which were once repressive, 
one-party communist states but are now our friends and even, in some 
cases, allies. The United States initiated this effort with the OSCE 
and contributes significantly to election observation missions 
elsewhere, providing the expertise that comes with our experience. If 
we are to encourage other governments to take this effort seriously and 
implement recommendations, we need to set the example ourselves. 
Unfortunately, several U.S. states greatly restrict or even prohibit 
international observation. This is something which must change as we 
prepare for mid-term elections in 2022 and general elections in 2024.

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