[House Hearing, 116 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
VOTING RIGHTS AND ELECTION ADMINISTRATION IN THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS
AND OTHER TERRITORIES
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HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS
COMMITTEE ON HOUSE
ADMINISTRATION
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
JULY 28, 2020
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on House Administration
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available on the Internet:
http://www.govinfo.gov/committee/house-administration
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
41-333 WASHINGTON : 2020
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COMMITTEE ON HOUSE ADMINISTRATION
ZOE LOFGREN, California, Chairperson
JAMIE RASKIN, Maryland RODNEY DAVIS, Illinois,
SUSAN A. DAVIS, California Ranking Member
G. K. BUTTERFIELD, North Carolina MARK WALKER, North Carolina
MARCIA L. FUDGE, Ohio BARRY LOUDERMILK, Georgia
PETE AGUILAR, California
C O N T E N T S
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JULY 28, 2020
Page
Voting Rights and Election Administration in the U.S. Virgin
Islands and Other Territories.................................. 1
OPENING STATEMENTS
Chairperson Marcia L. Fudge...................................... 1
Prepared statement of Chairperson Fudge...................... 3
Hon. Rodney Davis, Ranking Member................................ 5
Prepared statement of Ranking Member Davis................... 7
WITNESSES
Hon. Stacey E. Plaskett, Delegate, United States Virgin Islands.. 10
Prepared statement of Hon. Plaskett.......................... 12
Hon. Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon, Resident Commissioner of Puerto
Rico........................................................... 18
Prepared statement of Hon. Gonzalez-Colon.................... 20
Hon. Michael F. Q. San Nicolas, Delegate, Guam................... 22
Prepared statement of Hon. San Nicolas....................... 24
Hon. Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, Delegate, Commonwealth of
the Northern Mariana Islands................................... 26
Prepared statement of Hon. Sablan............................ 28
Mr. Gerard Emanuel, Retired Educator............................. 70
Prepared statement of Mr. Emanuel............................ 72
Mr. Neil Weare, President and Founder, Equally American Legal
Defense & Education Fund....................................... 82
Prepared statement of Mr. Weare.............................. 84
MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD
Statement of Robert Underwood, former Delegate, Guam............. 32
Statement of Curtis L. Decker, Executive Director, National
Disability Rights Network...................................... 36
Statement of Pamela Lynn Colon, Esq., citizen of St. Croix, U.S.
Virgin Islands................................................. 38
Statement of Emile A. Henderson III, Esq., Managing Attorney,
Yvette D. Ross-Edwards P.C..................................... 53
Statement of Caroline F. Fawkes, CERA, Supervisor of elections,
U.S. Virgin Islands............................................ 55
Statement of Carol M. Burke, National Committee Woman, Democratic
Party of the U.S. Virgin Islands............................... 62
Statement of Gustav James, citizen of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin
Islands........................................................ 64
Statement of John M. Canegata, Chairman, Republican Party of the
U.S. Virgin Islands............................................ 67
Statement of the Democratic Party of Puerto Rico................. 90
Statement of the Puerto Rico Equality Commission................. 93
VOTING RIGHTS AND ELECTION ADMINISTRATION IN THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS
AND OTHER TERRITORIES
----------
TUESDAY, JULY 28, 2020
House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on Elections,
Committee on House Administration,
Washington, DC.
The Subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10:07 a.m., via
Webex, Hon. Marcia L. Fudge [Chair of the Subcommittee]
presiding.
Present: Representatives Fudge, Davis of California,
Butterfield, Aguilar, and Loudermilk.
Staff Present: Jamie Fleet, Staff Director; Dan Taylor,
General Counsel; Brandon Jacobs, Legislative Clerk; Stephen
Spaulding, Senior Elections Counsel; Sarah Nasta, Elections
Counsel; Peter Whippy, Communications Director; David Tucker,
Senior Counsel and Parliamentarian; Jen Daulby, Minority Staff
Director; Tim Monahan, Minority Deputy Staff Director; Cole
Felder, Minority General Counsel; and Veleter Mazyck, Chief of
Staff, Rep. Marcia Fudge.
Chairwoman Fudge. The Subcommittee on Elections of the
Committee on House Administration will come to order. I see my
colleagues from the Committee: Mr. Davis--thank you so much--
Mr. Aguilar, and I do understand that Mr. Butterfield is
joining us shortly.
I want to thank my colleagues who are witnesses on this
panel as well. Thank you so much for being here today for this
virtual Subcommittee hearing.
As we begin, I want to remind our Members and participants
of a few things that will help us navigate this new platform.
We are holding this hearing in compliance with the regulations
for remote committee proceedings pursuant to H. Res. 965.
The fundamental nature of the hearing and our rules are
unchanged. Generally, the Committee will keep microphones muted
to limit background noise. Members will need to unmute
themselves when seeking recognition or when recognized for
their five minutes. Witnesses will need to unmute themselves
when recognized for their five minutes or when answering a
question.
Members and witnesses please keep your camera on at all
times, even if you need to step away for a moment during the
proceedings. Do not leave the meeting.
At this time, I ask unanimous consent that all members have
five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and
that any written statements be made part of the record.
Hearing no objection, so ordered.
Now we turn to today's important topic. On a morning when
we are discussing voting, we note that this is our first
hearing on voting since the passing of our dear friend and
colleague The Honorable John Robert Lewis. Congressman Lewis
spent his life and career fighting for the right of every
American to have free and fair access to the ballot. We must
and will continue that work.
Today we will examine the issues of voting rights and
election administration in the territories of the United
States. This Committee is tasked with oversight of Federal
elections. This must include oversight of how Federal elections
are administered in the U.S. territories, the impact of Federal
laws on elections in the territories, and investigating
barriers to the ballot box. During the many hearings held by
the Committee and Subcommittee throughout the 116th Congress,
we have explored issues of election administration, election
security, voting rights, and access, and protecting the
integrity of our democracy. It is past time we include voting
in the U.S. territories in this examination. And I thank Ms.
Plaskett for asking that we do this some time ago.
Collectively, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico in
the Atlantic, and Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of
the Northern Mariana Islands in the Pacific constitute the five
inhabited territories of the United States. Nearly 4 million
people live in the territories. These are our fellow Americans.
They have suffered significant devastation in recent years from
hurricanes and tropical cyclones. They are not immune from the
impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Their residents
served in the armed services at a rate historically among the
highest of any in the Nation.
Our examination of access to the ballot would be incomplete
if we did not address access to the ballot in the U.S.
territories. We are here today to listen to, and learn from,
our colleagues, citizens, and litigators about the barriers to
access to the ballot in the territories. I thank you all for
being here.
I would now like to welcome our witnesses. Each of you will
be recognized--forgive me. Mr. Davis, would you like to make an
opening comment?
[The statement of Chairwoman Fudge follows:]
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Mr. Davis. It is great to see everybody. I want to say
thanks to everybody here.
Since the creation of the Committee on House
Administration, oversight of Federal elections quickly became
one of its chief tasks. Throughout the CHA's existence, the
Committee has worked across the aisle to create significant and
necessary election policy that has widely impacted this Nation,
including legislation to eliminate the poll tax, legislation to
create easier access to members of the military and their
families when voting overseas, and the Help America Vote Act, a
landmark piece of legislation that took significant steps to
remedy the problems seen in the 2000 Presidential election.
The Subcommittee on Elections is designed to serve as an
extension of the CHA to enhance oversight capabilities of
Federal elections. While the Subcommittee has not always been a
formal part of CHA, the work on election administration has
always remained a top priority.
And this priority should not be a partisan one. Hearing
from the people who actually conduct elections and the problems
they face is vital to our work on this Subcommittee. That is
why, in the past, I have invited my own local election
administrator, who is a Democrat, to testify in front of full
House Administration Committee and have my staff reach out to
the Virgin Islands elections administrator, Ms. Caroline
Fawkes, after it was brought to our attention she was not
contacted ahead of time about this hearing to hear what her
concerns are. I am glad she was able to submit written
testimony for the record today. We must work in conjunction
with election officials and include them in hearings like this.
I am sorry to see Mr. Abramson is sick. I was looking
forward to hearing his perspective.
While expanding voting rights is a noble and just cause, we
are less than 100 days until States and localities will be
conducting a Presidential election in the middle of a global
pandemic, something not done in my lifetime. However, during
recent primaries, we did get a glimpse of the many problems
that can occur if steps are not taken to properly prepare
election administrators and voters. This Committee should be
providing oversight of States and localities who run our
elections by engaging with localities where we saw significant
issues in recent primaries and where the risk of
disenfranchising voters is great if changes are not made before
November.
Just last week, I sent letters to 10 different localities
across the country seeking information regarding issues
reported in recent primaries and other election administration
violations. State and local election officials are moving
quickly to adapt to running elections during this pandemic, and
I want to make sure we are providing them the help and guidance
they need to run a successful election this fall.
I want to make sure we are avoiding some of the issues we
saw prior to the adoption of the Voting Rights Act:
consolidation of polling locations, confusion among voters on
their proper polling location, and long lines on election day.
Nevertheless, we are here today to explore voting rights
and election administration in the territories. I certainly
wished we would have had this one in-person, but,
unfortunately, the pandemic took care of that.
I do want to thank my good friend and former seatmate on
the House Ag Committee, Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett from the
Virgin Islands, Congresswoman Gonzalez-Colon from Puerto Rico,
Congressman San Nicolas from Guam, and Congressman Sablan from
the Northern Mariana Islands for their testimony they are about
to give today. I have enjoyed the opportunity to work with each
of you. There are five inhabited unincorporated territories of
the United States: American Samoa, Puerto Rico, Guam, the
Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands. Each of these
territories have contributed in countless ways to the American
fabric. For instance, the rate of military service from these
territories is traditionally much higher than the mainland.
Their cultures make America better. However, they do not have
voting representation in the United States Congress.
Underlaying this status are numerous court decisions--some
recent, some antiquated.
Today I am here to listen to all the witnesses who have
graciously agreed to participate in this virtual hearing. And I
look forward to hearing what you have to share with the
Subcommittee. Thank you, Madam Chair. And I yield back.
[The statement of Mr. Davis follows:]
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Chairwoman Fudge. Thank you, Ranking Member Davis.
I would now like to welcome our witnesses. Each of you will
be recognized for five minutes. I will remind our witnesses
that their entire written statements will be made a part of
record and that the record will remain open for at least five
days for additional materials to be submitted.
A reminder to all our witnesses: There is a timer on the
screen. Please be sure you can see the timer and are mindful of
the five-minute time limit.
Our first panel, we will hear from four of our colleagues,
each of whom represent residents of the territories. As is our
custom, we will not ask our colleagues questions.
Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett, my good friend, represents
the United States Virgin Islands at-large congressional
district. She currently serves on the House Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee, the Oversight and Government Reform
Committee, and the House Committee on Agriculture, where she
chairs the Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture, and
Research.
Prior to serving in Congress, Representative Plaskett
served as an assistant district attorney in the Bronx, a senior
counsel at the Department of Justice, and as general counsel
for the Virgin Islands Economic Development Authority.
Welcome, Ms. Plaskett.
Congresswoman Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon was elected in 2016
as Puerto Rico's sole representative to the Congress, known as
a Resident Commissioner. She is the first woman to hold the
office. She is a member of the House Committees on
Transportation and Infrastructure, and Natural Resources. She
previously served in the Puerto Rico House of Representatives
where she served as speaker of the House and minority leader.
Welcome.
Congressman Michael San Nicolas represents Guam in the
116th Congress. Before coming to Congress in 2019, Congressman
San Nicolas served in the Guam legislature since 2013. He
currently serves as vice chair of the House Financial Services
Committee and a serves on the Natural Resources Committee.
Welcome to you.
And, lastly, Congressman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan is
the first and only person to represent the people of the
Northern Mariana Islands in the House of Representatives,
beginning service in 2009--my classmate. He currently serves as
chair for Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and
Secondary Education of the Education and Labor Committee, as
well as on the Natural Resources and Veterans' Affairs
Committees.
Prior to serving in Congress, Congressman Sablan served in
the Northern Mariana Islands legislature in the administration
of several Governors and was appointed executive director of
the Commonwealth Election Commission.
I will now recognize the witnesses for five minutes apiece.
Ms. Plaskett, you are recognized.
STATEMENT OF THE HON. STACEY E. PLASKETT, A DELEGATE IN
CONGRESS FROM THE VIRGIN ISLANDS
Ms. Plaskett. Good morning, Chairwoman Fudge, Ranking
Member Davis, fellow Members of Congress, distinguished guests.
My name is Stacey Plaskett, and I represent the Virgin Islands
of the United States in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Thank you so much for this hearing.
One cannot discuss voting rights and disenfranchisement in
the territories without talking about race and racism. The
unincorporated territories of the Virgin Islands of the United
States, a possession, is the most structural example of
systemic racism. That system permeates the legal status, as
well as the economic, political, and educational structure that
keeps the disparity between us and the mainland. It manifests
itself as a position of exclusion of the people living in the
Virgin Islands from equitable treatment.
103 years ago, the Danish Government sold what is now known
as the Virgin Islands, land, waters, property, and as part of
the package, people. All four of my grandparents were alive and
living on the island of St. Croix at the time of the transfer.
Of my eight great-grandparents, I believe one may have met the
land and income requirements mandatory to be able to vote on
the purchase. Only one would have been able to vote for his
destiny. And after the purchase, those living in the
territories, my grandparents and great-grandparents, my family
were citizens of nowhere. They had no citizenship for 10 years.
After becoming citizens, Virgin Islanders came to
Washington and petitioned, pleaded for the ability to be part
of the draft. Virgin Islanders like the other territories serve
and give the ultimate sacrifice in far greater number per
capita than those Americans on the mainland. We want the
responsibility, not just the privileges. This is a longstanding
absurdity in our current legal system. Nearly 4 million
Americans live on American soil and cannot fully participate in
our democracy. They can only participate if they leave home. So
long as they reside on the Virgin Islands' soil, on U.S. soil,
on mainland soil, they can vote for President. But when they
move to a territory, their voting rights disappear.
As you all know, the territories do not have equal voting
representation in Congress. In recent history, they have
occasionally had similar rights in the U.S. House of
Representatives in the event that it has resolved itself in the
Committee on the Whole on the State of the Union for
consideration of amendments to legislation, so long as the
territories' vote won't actually make a difference. Do you know
what it is like to see a bill related to your people, your
constituents, and not be able to vote on it?
This lack of equal representation and equal voting power
has a direct correlation to persistent poverty across all of
the U.S. territories. Americans living in the territories are
accustomed to being last in line for hurricane relief, for
COVID-19 equipment, for basic healthcare, education, and more.
All five territories have significantly lower per capita income
than States, yet are subject to arbitrary eligibility barriers
and funding caps that limit their poorest residents to much
needed Federal benefits, like Medicaid and SSI, as well as the
formulas for roads and education and more.
I submit that they would be much more likely to receive
parity and equality under these programs if millions of
Americans who live in the territories of the United States were
allowed to participate fully in our democracy. At the core of
the disenfranchisement of the territories is a series of
controversial Supreme Court decisions written in the same
period that the Virgin Islands became part of the United States
known as the Insular Cases. These cases held that the
Constitution's rights and protections do not necessarily apply
to Americans in the territories nor to the promises of full
political participation or equality. Those decisions were
explicitly informed by racial assumptions. In one case, the
Court refused to extend equal constitutional guarantees in
Puerto Rico because doing so would place an undesirable limit
on the Federal Government's ability to rule over ``savages''
or, ``alien raises'' not immersed in Anglo-Saxon principles of
law. It comes as no surprise that the most influential of these
cases, Downes v. Bidwell, was decided by the same Justices who
invented separate but equal doctrine of racial segregation in
Plessy v. Ferguson just 3 years earlier. Yet, even as legal
scholars have characterized the Insular Cases as central
documents in the history of American racism. The last three
administrations, Trump, Obama, and Bush, each have defended the
Insular Cases, suggesting that outdated racial premises can and
should remain the law of the land. Before the Insular Cases,
territories were viewed as inchoate states, areas on the path
to full statehood. The Insular Cases have created a near
permanent colonial status for those living in the territories.
When the House Parliamentarian and Congressional Research
Service used the Insular Cases to opine on why the territories
should not be given a full vote, the irony of the Insular Cases
is that Virgin Islanders in the 1700s pooled money together to
send a promising young man to the Americas. Alexander Hamilton,
that young man, coauthored the Constitution, the same document
that keeps us from this.
I know that I have run out of time, but I would like to
submit for the record written testimony from so many Virgin
Islanders who have given me written testimony. They range
across the spectrum from the head of our GOP of our Virgin
Islands Republican Party, John Canegata, to Caroline Fawkes, to
Carol Burke, the Democratic National Committeewoman, all
administrations.
Ms. Plaskett. Thank you for this opportunity, and I look
forward to listening to our witnesses as well. Thank you so
much.
[The statement of Ms. Plaskett follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chairwoman Fudge. Thank you very, very much.
Congresswoman Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon, you are now
recognized for five minutes. You need to unmute.
STATEMENT OF THE HON. JENNIFFER GONZALEZ-COLON, RESIDENT
COMMISSIONER FROM THE TERRITORY OF PUERTO RICO
Miss Gonzalez-Colon.
Thank you, Madam Chair, members of the Committee for
holding this hearing on voting rights and election
administration in the territories.
The rights to vote and to be equally represented in the
government that make one's laws and to have elections conducted
thoroughly are the most fundamental and essential elements of
democracy. So I need to support the statement of my friend
Stacey Plaskett. We are fighting almost for the same thing.
I represent about 89 percent of the total population in the
five territories. That means that I represent 3.2 million
American citizens with the same rights as American citizens in
the States, but we and the residents of other territories live
in jurisdictions that constitutionally cannot have votes in the
government that not only make our national laws but can and
sometimes does intervene in local laws. Congress has this power
because the Constitution territorial clause, which makes
Congress our super territorial legislature. Congress can
delegate the exercise of self-government to the people of a
territory, but it still ultimately possesses the power to
govern us in all matters, and it can take it back, the self-
government it has delegated. That is the reality.
It did this in Puerto Rico in 2016 when the approval of
PROMESA [the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic
Stability Act], and the Supreme Court subsequently reiterated
the authority. It cannot relinquish the power without making a
territory a State or a nation. It also constitutionally can and
does treat us differently than the States, overall worse.
These are the single most influential factors in Puerto
Rico's economy's underdevelopment. It is also why the Americans
that I represent are not only 35 percent of all Puerto Ricans
that live on the island; approximately 5 million Puerto Ricans
live in the U.S. mainland because of the greater opportunities
and rights available to them in a State which Puerto Rico
cannot provide.
The United States is history's greatest democracy, but it
has never been a perfect democracy. The problem of democracy
and equality for territories however cannot be rectified by
Congress or the courts because it comes from the plain meaning
of the Constitution. The only way for a territory to obtain
broader representation in Congress, equal or otherwise, or in
electing a President is to become a State or for the
Constitution to be amended. We have seen this in the District
of Columbia obtaining votes in electing the President without a
constitutional amendment. We have also seen it in repeated
court rulings rejecting claims that tried to extend Federal
voting rights of States citizens in territories.
The only other option for territories to obtain democracy
is to become nations, either fully independent from or in a
free association with the United States or another nation, that
either nation can unilaterally end. This will mean the end of
U.S. citizenship in one way or another.
The same is true for obtaining equal treatment in Federal
programs. Even when we are granted equal treatment, it can be
taken away. The situation I have described is the hard truth
for Americans in the territories. These realities and
appreciation of and the admiration of the United States are why
the remaining people of Puerto Rico want a territory to become
a State. We should not have to move to an existing State for
democracy or equality. That territories will eventually become
States was a founding principle of our Nation that dates to the
Articles of Confederation and was reenacted during the First
Session of the 1st Congress. This policy was cast aside after
the Spanish-American War in 1898 because of racial and cultural
bigotry. It was a concern that if Puerto Rico were put on the
path to statehood, the Philippines would want that too.
So the Supreme Court divined the existence of a previously
unknown status: unincorporated territories, that status of
being a possession but not part of the United States.
Unincorporated territories can become nations as well as
States. Only constitutional rights considered to be fundamental
apply absent action by Congress or Court.
The Supreme Court has resisted all efforts to reverse its
findings of this status, including very recently. Doing so
would mean all territories can only become States. Whether
others want to, it is for them to say. I can report that Puerto
Rico does want to be a State of the Union, and it wants
equality and democracy within the United States, and that is
the reason we file and dropped H.R. 4901 with 60 cosponsors
supporting statehood for Puerto Rico, including our friend John
Lewis.
Thank you, Madam Chair, and I yield back.
[The statement of Miss Gonzalez-Colon follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chairwoman Fudge. Thank you very, very much.
Next we will hear from Congressman Michael San Nicolas.
You are recognized.
STATEMENT OF THE HON. MICHAEL F.Q. SAN NICOLAS, A DELEGATE IN
CONGRESS FROM THE TERRITORY OF GUAM
Mr. San Nicolas. Chairwoman Fudge and Ranking Member Davis,
and honorable Members of the Subcommittee. My name is Michael
F.Q. San Nicolas, and I am the representative at-large for the
territory of Guam to the U.S. House of Representatives.
Let me begin by expressing my thanks to the Committee for
taking the historic step to hold this hearing as it encompasses
a subject no less significant than the suffrage of this
democracy of our United States.
Today the Committee will be hearing testimony and receiving
testimony from witnesses who will very eloquently articulate
the circumstances of its subject before us: the voting rights
of American citizens who reside in our U.S. territories. The
Committee will hear compelling arguments of the inequality and
injustices that surround these circumstances, how it is
fundamentally un-American and how it is long overdue for
remedy.
For my part, in representing my constituency the people of
Guam, I first want to open in full agreement that the inability
for American citizens to impact electorally the full voting
representation they have in the Congress and the President of
their country is a circumstance that must be addressed.
Equally, as a nonvoting Member of this House, I also have
the unique perspective to assert in full confidence that these
present circumstances denying American citizens of the
opportunity for full representation is not born out of malice
from any Member of this House. Plainly put, there is not a
single Member of Congress, to my knowledge, who relishes in the
fact and seeks to perpetuate the reality that Americans
anywhere, and in particular our territories, are
disenfranchised.
We are here today because the history of our country, the
makeup of our Republic, the framework of our Constitution, and
the case law of our courts have not caught up to what we today
would expect to be an American standard, that every American
living in America should be equally protected and represented
in the law as Americans.
The challenge before us today is how to address this.
History has shown that it was never the intent of this Republic
to perpetually maintain territories. Every American territory
before 1898 had a very distinct path into the Union. And what
was consistent in all paths was a deliberate attempt to invest
in their eventual inclusion. Whether it was through encouraging
settlements or investing in infrastructure or the deliberate
attempt by the predecessors of this body to take pride in
growing the number of States that encompass the United States
of America.
Territories that qualify for full inclusion into the
Republic as States must be so included. Puerto Rico must be
included as a State in this Republic or released by this
Republic. There is no rational basis to maintain it as a
territory as it meets all constitutional thresholds for
inclusion. And the inaction of this government that perpetuates
its territorial status is inexcusable.
A binding referendum in Puerto Rico administered by the
United States for inclusion in the State of Puerto Rico as a
State or recognition of an independent Puerto Rico is a duty we
have not the convenience to ignore. The very integrity of our
Republic is a stake.
For our smaller territories, to include Guam, a deliberate
attempt to bring them into the Union must be undertaken by this
country. Further increments of progress must be taken in this
regard to include the extension of delegates, not only to the
United States House of Representatives as we have today but to
the United States Senate, that there may be some form of
representation in both Chambers of Congress. Similarly
Electoral College representation as so extended to the District
of Columbia must so too be extended to all territories. While
the latter represents a larger hurdle requiring a
constitutional amendment, the former could have us seating
Senate delegates posthaste, as my own H.R. 5526 introduced in
this 116th Congress would see it so.
Additional consideration must be given to territories to
enhance their abilities to qualify for inclusion as States.
Deregulation of shipping constraints to lower the cost of
living, travel waivers to encourage tourism growth, public
transportation infrastructure investment to mobilize economies,
and higher education investment to firm up local governments
and enterprises are all modern-day equivalents of the same
policies that transformed the West and the Midwest into the
great States west of the Mississippi that we have in our Union
today.
A deliberate attempt to meet their unique needs and
circumstances in order to fuel their growth into full
membership and the fulfillment of full voting rights for those
who call them home is something that we need to support for our
territories. The quest for voting rights in this Republic and
how we address it is nothing less than a testament of the
government's commitment to this Republic, to growing it,
strengthening it, and also graduating its territories into
whole parts of it or setting them free, and preserving this
Republic from bastardization. This is the question before us,
the sanctity of American democracy.
Thank you so much for the opportunity to testify today. I
look forward to working with you and all the great
Representatives of this Congress to address these truths as
they are now known and our commitment to it.
Thank you, Madam Chair. And I yield back.
[The statement of Mr. San Nicolas follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chairwoman Fudge. Thank you.
Congressman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, you are now
recognized for five minutes.
STATEMENT OF THE HON. GREGORIO KILILI CAMACHO SABLAN, A
DELEGATE IN CONGRESS FROM THE TERRITORY OF NORTHERN MARIANA
ISLANDS
Mr. Sablan. Thank you, Madam Chair Fudge, Ranking Member
Davis, and other Members of the Subcommittee. Thank you for
holding today's hearing. I wish to associate myself with the
statements including the discussion of the legal hurdles of
allowing citizens of territories to fully and finally exercise
their rights as Americans. And I hope I can help the
understanding of the mechanics of elections.
I served for 10 years as election commissioner in the
Northern Mariana Islands. I was responsible for voter
registration, absentee mail-in ballots, training election
workers, securing ballots, and all the behind-the-scenes
complications that produce a clean and creditable election.
We are all concerned how the coronavirus may affect the
election process. To begin on a hopeful note, I will tell you
that one week before the 2018 election, a super typhoon struck
the Mariana Islands, throwing life into chaos, cutting off
power and water, stripping the roofs from the schools where we
go to vote. The Governor delayed the election by one week and,
according to the Congressional Research Service, the only case
of the postpone Federal general election in modern history.
Though people were struggling to put their lives together,
one week later, they voted. The turnout was good. The integrity
of the election seemed to have been maintained. The results
were not questioned, not until later. If the people of the
Marianas can hold an election even after the second worst
typhoon in the United States' history, surely America can
maintain this cornerstone of our democracy even in the middle
of the coronavirus pandemic. I am hopeful based on the 2018
experience. I am also hopeful because Congress has already
acted to strengthen election security funding in the
Consolidated Appropriations Act in December.
The Marianas, for example, received $600,000 using that
money, I understand, to operate voting equipment, auditing,
voter registration, strengthening cybersecurity, and better
track campaign financing. That appropriation comes to the
Marianas through the Help the America Vote Act, which is
particularly satisfying.
In 2002, when I was election commissioner and the Help
America Vote Act was enacted, the Marianas had no delegate in
Congress and, thus, no Federal election. So we were not
included in HAVA. It has long been my goal to fix that gap in
the Consolidated Appropriations deal. The Congress did not stop
with just one appropriation. In March, we passed the CARES Act
with more funding to ensure the November 3rd Federal election
goes on, despite the coronavirus crisis. The Marianas Election
Commission gets another $600,000 from the CARES Act to
implement vote by mail and expand voter registration and early
voting. The money can also increase the number of voting places
to reduce crowding and keep in-person voters healthy.
These actions do not mean we are finished. House Democrats'
signature legislation, H.R. 1, the For the People Act, also
aimed to make voting easier and more secure. But the Senate has
refused to take up our bill. The For the People Act permanently
includes the Marianas in the Help America Vote Act. There is
also a technical version adding the Marianas to the National
Voter Registration Act and protection for Marianas voters who
use the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act to
vote in Presidential elections.
And H.R. 1 establishes a commission to recommend how to
fully provide full and equal voting rights here in the House of
Representatives and in elections for President for the people
of the Marianas and the other Insular areas.
So let us hope today's hearing reminds America there is
more to be done to improve and protect America's election and
ensure every citizen has the right to representation and the
right to vote.
The Senate should too--something is wrong here----
Chairwoman Fudge. We can hear you, Kilili.
Mr. Sablan. I am hearing something else. Oh, there. Okay.
So, lastly, I want to remind the Subcommittee that there
are technical corrections needed in Federal election law to
ensure people in the non-State areas are protected from
intimidation, threats, or coercion when they cast their ballots
in Federal elections. So, in 2011, I induced H.R. 3268, which
makes all Federal election law fully applicable in the
Marianas, American Samoa, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The bill bars government officials from using their authority
to interfere with the nomination or election process. The bill
bars noncitizens from voting and prohibits any false
representations when registering or voting.
Among the cosponsors was our late and beloved John Lewis. I
hope that, Madam Chair, as part of a memorial, we can take up
this long overdue technical correction in Federal election law
so everyone in the Insulars has all of the voting right
protections afforded to the rest of the United States. I will
certainly look forward to working with Chair Fudge to reach
that legislative goal. I look forward to hearing Mr. Weare's
testimony today as well.
I thank you for the opportunity to testify today. Thank
you. I yield.
[The statement of Mr. Sablan follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chairwoman Fudge. Thank you very, very much. Thank you to
all of the witnesses. Certainly, I for one, I am with you, just
tell me what I need to do, and I will do the best I can to
ensure that we do the right thing. So I appreciate your
testimony.
And before I go to the second panel, I need to ask you
unanimous consent to enter into the record a written statement
from former Congressman Robert Underwood who represented Guam
in the Congress from 1993 to 2003.
Without objection, so ordered.
[The information follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chairwoman Fudge. I also ask unanimous consent that
statements be entered into the record from the National
Disability Rights Network, attorney Pamela Colon, Dr. Carlyle
Corbin, attorney Emile Henderson III, the Virgin Islands GOP,
Caroline Fawkes, supervisor of the elections for the Virgin
Islands, Carol Burke, the Democratic National Committeewoman,
Gustav James, a citizen of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, and
John M. Canegata, Chairman of the V.I. GOP.
[The information follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chairwoman Fudge. Without objection, so ordered.
It is now time for our second panel. Gerard Emanuel is a
retired educator, having worked most of his adult life as an
educator in jobs that involved history, culture, political
status, research and/or public administration.
Mr. Emanuel was a political status educator for the United
States Virgin Islands Bureau of Public Administration, as well
as the executive director for the Virgin Islands Commission on
Status and Federal Relations, and a delegate to the Fifth
Constitutional Convention.
Gwen-Marie Moolenaar is the president of the League of
Women Voters of the Virgin Islands. Dr. Moolenaar is from St.
Thomas. She has a Ph.D. in neurophysiology and was a faculty
member of the Howard University School of Medicine from 1972 to
1988, and became provost of the University of the Virgin
Islands before retiring in 2005.
Neil Weare is the President and founder of Equally American
Legal Defense & Education Fund. Raised in the U.S. territory of
Guam, Mr. Weare worked for Guam's former delegate Madeleine
Bordallo prior to attending law school. Mr. Weare is a civil
rights attorney committed to achieving equal rights for
Americans living in the U.S. territories.
Mr. Emanuel, you are now recognized for 5 minutes. Please
unmute yourself.
Mr. Emanuel. Where is it?
Chairwoman Fudge. We can hear you now.
STATEMENTS OF GERARD EMANUEL, RETIRED EDUCATOR; GWEN-MARIE
MOOLENAAR, PRESIDENT, LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF THE VIRGIN
ISLANDS; AND NEIL WEARE, PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER, EQUALLY
AMERICAN LEGAL DEFENSE & EDUCATION FUND.
STATEMENT OF GERARD EMANUEL
Mr. Emanuel. Good morning, Chairwoman Fudge and other
honorable Members of the House Administration Subcommittee on
Elections. My name is Gerard Emanuel. Thank for inviting me to
this important hearing.
I would also like to thank the Congresswoman, The Honorable
Stacey Plaskett, for recommending me as a presenter. I will
address voting on the national level. I concur with Dr. Carlyle
Corbin statement to this subcommittee.
Today I hope to demonstrate that the basis of withholding
rights from the Virgin Islands including voting on the national
level is fatally flawed. The legal decision that denied us
these voting rights may have been based on Jim Crow views that
was said before, that should never have been a foundation for
making legal decisions.
Honorable Members, as a result, in unincorporated
territories, as you know, the Constitution doesn't follow the
flag, but constitutional experts, such as Stanley Laughlin,
state that it should, except in cases where applying it would
be impractical, anomalous, and violative of the local culture
and custom.
Granting the territories the right to vote for the
Commander in Chief as well providing voting representation in
both Houses of Congress would definitely not be impractical or
violate any local or cultural custom. Doing this is violation
of our rights of U.S. citizens. The reason for the denying
these rights were stated by Justice Brown in Downes v. Bidwell
over 120 years ago.
Furthermore, the Court was unanimous in Balzac v. Puerto
Rico in denying U.S. citizens their trial jury solely because
they reside in an unincorporated territory. These reasons might
have seemed valid during the Jim Crow era, when segregation was
based on Plessy v. Ferguson. They should not have been valid
after Brown v. Board of Education, and certainly not after each
territory had proven that it could operate the government based
on the laws and principles of the U.S. Constitution for more
than half a century.
Furthermore, denying your citizens the right to vote in
national elections simply because of their residence is out of
step with the recent clamor for justice and equality,
especially for persons of African descent after recent public
events and the death of two civil rights heroes.
Honorable Members, the Supreme Court invented the status of
unincorporated territory. And it was never intended to be
permanent, as said before. Justice White said this. This
untenable and unconstitutional situation has lasted for over
100 years in the Virgin Islands.
The remedy we seek Congress to consider that, since we are
too small to be a State, like Puerto Rico, all U.S. citizens in
the territories all the duties and stabilities of citizenship,
they should be granted certain rights that U.S. citizens who
reside in the States have. Denying us a voting representation
in Congress is anachronistic, anomalous, discriminatory, and
must be changed because it is all inconsistent with the ideals
upon which this country was built. All of us have paid the tax
by fighting and dying in wars fought by the U.S. We are also
obligated to perform all the responsibilities, as was said
before. Isn't it fair that we obtain the rights of you residing
in the States while we reside in the Virgin Islands? Denying
this territory is like taxation without representation, one of
the fundamental reasons for the Revolutionary War. And as my
Congresswoman mentioned, we fought the Revolutionary War not
only but [inaudible] who created. We fought in this war
[inaudible] and died in all wars.
In conclusion, Balzac v. Puerto Rico that is the status the
territory itself, not the status of U.S. citizens there, that
deter rights and privileges [inaudible]. And an unincorporated
territory is sometimes more than an international country.
[Inaudible] Members of Congress, they can receive SSI, but it
is important to become a resident [inaudible] territories.
Please remedy this.
Thank you.
[The statement of Mr. Emanuel follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chairwoman Fudge. Thank you, Mr. Emanuel. We were having
just a bit of difficulty with your sound. But we do have your
written testimony as well. So thank you so much.
Ms. Gwen-Marie Moolenaar, you are now recognized for five
minutes.
STATEMENT OF GWEN-MARIE MOOLENAAR
Ms. Moolenaar. Thank you. Good morning, Madam Chair, and
members of the subcommittee, and honorable guests here today.
Thank you so very much for this invitation to testify on voting
rights in the U.S. Virgin Islands. It is disturbing that this
great country of ours, which was founded on the idea of
government by, of, and for the people is today struggling to
uphold one of its founding principles--the democratic right of
its citizens to vote.
The League of Women Voters of the Virgin Islands notes that
we are in the Virgin Islands free of some of the more heinous
assaults against citizen rights to vote. I am pleased to report
for example that we do not have gerrymandering, nor blatant
purging of voter rolls, nor threats of fraud associated with
mail-in voting. So it is in our territory citizens' voting
rights are well, protected when it comes to local government. I
cannot predict that it will always remain so, but I do not
foresee signs of any imminent change ahead. However, more could
always be done for the physically challenged and physically
disabled.
On a parallel note, within the territories, there has been
a strong push for the Presidential vote. The League of Women
Voters of the Virgin Islands has supported the efforts of Neil
Weare in this regard, and we will continue to do so. But
besides the Presidential vote however we are concerned that our
congressional representatives do not have a stable vote in
Congress beyond the standing committee level. Congress has
wrestled with this issue of the delegate vote since 1794. As
our territorial representatives are not Members of the House,
they cannot vote on the House floor, but can do so in standing
committees, and only occasionally in the Committee of the
Whole, depending on the majority control of the House.
Generally their vote in the Committee of the Whole is allowed
under Democratic control but not under Republican control of
House. What is the rationale there besides a partisan
advantage?
But this can easily be changed in House rules. The House
has changed the rules and voting responsibilities of the
delegates over the years from a simple presence in 1794, to now
a vote in standing committees and an occasional vote in the
Committee of the Whole. So change has and can continue to
happen. Rules can change, and so can our Constitution.
It is noteworthy that, in some European countries,
representatives from their Caribbean territories have full
voting powers in the national voting assemblies. If our
representatives have been found worthy over the years to be
good enough for voting membership in standing committees and
occasionally in the Whole, why not within the Committee on the
Whole on a regular basis irrespective of partisan control?
At a Conference on Territorial Affairs held in Washington,
D.C. in 1993, when asked about this, a U.S. Congressman
attending the conference stated that to allow territorial
representatives at that level of the vote would be tantamount
to, and I quote him, it would be tantamount to ``a case of the
tail wagging the dog.'' However, it needs to be pointed out
that in that proverbial tail is the population of Puerto Rico
which outnumbers the population of at least five or six States.
Unfettered it is reminiscent of the old days of the
plantations of the South when the so-called lesser beings stood
outside the house, not good enough to step inside. Why are the
territories being treated like the lesser beings in the U.S.
Congress standing outside? After all, we have fought in your
wars shoulder to shoulder with other American soldiers, as has
been pointed out by Professor Emanuel and Congresswoman
Plaskett. We have been fighting since we were purchased from
Denmark in 1917.
Also, the territories do contribute millions, if not
billions, collectively through special taxes. Look at rum and
our and our gasoline taxes. However, we recognize that these
issues will remain problematic until we can clarify our Federal
relations, until we can determine our political status with the
U.S. To do this well, we need to have adequate support and the
necessary resources to make those decisions.
Once done, these issues can be more easily resolved within
that new context and through meaningful discussions and
compromise with Congress on how we can have full inclusion as
U.S. citizens in the U.S. territories.
Thank you.
[The statement of Ms. Moolenaar follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chairwoman Fudge. Thank you very much.
Mr. Weare, you are now recognized for five minutes.
STATEMENT OF NEIL WEARE
Mr. Weare. Thank you, Chair Fudge, Ranking Member Davis,
distinguished Subcommittee Members and representatives of the
territories. Thank you all for the opportunity to testify in
support of voting rights for the nearly 4 million Americans
living in U.S. territories, 98 percent of whom are racial or
ethnic minorities.
I am Neil Weare, president and founder of Equally American
Legal Defense & Education Fund. I grew up in Guam, and when I
turned 18, I was required to register for Selective Service. I
was unable to vote for President. I founded Equally American in
2013, and it remains the only public interest law organization
focused exclusively on advancing equality and voting rights in
the U.S. territories. Building on the progress of earlier civil
rights movements, including the work of American heroes like
John Lewis and Thurgood Marshall, we approach our work through
a civil rights lens and do not take a position on political
status. Using civil rights litigation, we work to build the
kind of broad awareness and consensus at both the national and
local level needed to end the second class treatment of U.S.
citizens in the territories.
On Veterans Day in 2015, Equally American filed the Federal
voting rights lawsuit on behalf of Luis Segovia and other
territorial residents, who could have voted for Presidents
under overseas voting laws if they lived literally anywhere
else in the world, even a foreign country. We also represented
the League of Women Voters of the Virgin Islands, which Dr.
Moolenaar leads.
Luis and three other plaintiffs were decorated veterans who
honorably served in the U.S. Armed Forces, swearing an oath to
support and defend the Constitution of the United States and to
obey the orders of the President of the United States. Yet,
despite their service, they remained disenfranchised, unable to
vote for their Commander in Chief. These decorated veterans
deserve better. And their story is not unique.
U.S. territories have a proud tradition of military
service. Over 100,000 veterans live in the territories having
served to defend our Nation's democratic and constitutional
principles. Yet they remain disenfranchised simply because of
where they live.
It is also clear that the right to vote must be viewed as a
kitchen table issue, not simply a matter of principle.
Residents of U.S. territories are shortchanged in a range of
Federal benefits programs that most Americans take for granted.
Disparities in Federal Medicaid policy leaves citizens in the
territories without the funding that ensures a basic level of
healthcare sustainability in most American communities. Under
Federal law, otherwise eligible low-income, aged, blind, or
disabled Americans living in most territories are entirely
precluded from receiving SSI benefits based solely on where
they live. Some of these discriminatory Federal laws have been
recently struck down in Federal courts and will likely soon
come before the U.S. Supreme Court. But Congress need not and
should not wait for the Supreme Court to say whether this kind
of discrimination is unconstitutional for Congress to know it
is wrong.
The grim reality is, until residents of the territories are
able to vote for President and have voting representation in
Congress, life and death decisions will continue to be made by
the Federal Government without their input.
Underlying the ongoing disenfranchisement and inequality
facing U.S. citizens in the territories is the shameful legacy
of the Insular Cases, a series of controversial decisions
grounded in overt racism, which for over a century have
relegated those territories to second class status. While other
racist Supreme Court decisions like Plessy and Korematsu have
been overruled, the Insular Cases doctrine of separate and
unequal is still on the books. Until the Insular Cases are
overruled, discrimination against residents to the territories
is unlikely to end. We are working to do just that through
groundbreaking civil rights legislation.
One political obstacle to the expansion of voting rights in
U.S. territories has been the perception of providing political
representation to these Americans would benefit one party over
the other. But voters in each of the territories consistently
elect both Democrats and Republicans to represent them in all
levels of government. In Puerto Rico, Congresswoman Gonzalez,
of course, is a Republican, as is the current Governor there
and even the president of their Senate, while their immediate
predecessors were all Democrats. Voters in the other
territories also elect both Republicans and Democrats.
Misguided politics should not be an excuse for continued
disenfranchisement.
This ongoing disenfranchisement is particularly concerning
because of the undeniable connection it has to issues of race.
We cannot ignore the fact that, by silencing citizens in the
territories, we are silencing Americans who have long faced
racism, systemic bias, and racial exclusion.
We ask Congress to act so that citizens in the territories
who cannot vote for President and lack voting representation in
Congress can finally have their voices heard. It is the right
thing to do, the moral thing to do, and this year in 2020, it
is long overdue.
Thank you very much.
[The statement of Mr. Weare follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Chairwoman Fudge. Thank you. Thanks to all of our
witnesses. I so much appreciate your testimony.
It is now time for members to ask questions. I would first
recognize Mr. Butterfield for five minutes.
Mr. Butterfield. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. And
thank you to the witnesses for your testimony today. I have
heard most of it. I am in my Rayburn office, and I have been
following your testimony, as well as doing a few other things
to make sure that I could ask you some informed questions.
Let me just simply start first with the delegates. And
thank you for your passion. I have watched each you in your own
space as you have advocated for your constituents. And I just
want to thank you for your passion. And like the Chair, I hope
that I am here long enough to see the day that you will have
full voting rights in the Congress of the United States.
Let me just ask the four delegates, if I can do this very
quickly, and I will talk slowly so you can kind of think of the
two things that you could recommend, but if you would recommend
two things, two things that we can do to improve voting in the
territories. Two things, what would they be? Congresswoman
Plaskett.
Ms. Plaskett. Thank you very much for the question. The
first thing I would, which has been done and I believe now
needs to be an actual creation is, in H.R. 1, I authored and
the other territories agreed with me on the creation of a
congressional task force that would put into the record what
have been the implications and the effects of not having voting
rights in the territories, as well as to come up with
recommendations for that inclusion to be presented to the
Congress. I believe that that should be done.
Mr. Butterfield. Thank you.
Ms. Plaskett. The other thing, the second one would be to
remove the barriers and the disparity and treatment of the
territories in terms of funding so that we could grow our
economies and our population to be able to come up to par and
move towards a more equitable position to demand either
inclusion or independence.
Mr. Butterfield. Let me ask the gentlelady from Puerto Rico
the same question. Two things, two very basic things that we
can and should do. Jenniffer.
Chairwoman Fudge. G.K., I am not sure she is still on the
line.
Mr. Butterfield. All right.
Let me go to the representative from the Northern Mariana
Islands, please. Two things.
Mr. Sablan. Thank you for your question, Mr. Butterfield. I
will agree with delegate Stacey Plaskett that the passage of
H.R. 1, the enactment of that bill into law would be extremely
helpful. Having said that, I also would think that the
provisions of H.R. 3268 will help move forward the exercise of
free and fair elections in the territories--stating that
elections in the territories should be held up to Federal
standards as well. Elections in the territories are intramural
sports, Mr. Butterfield, seriously. Things get mixed up. And I
am the only Democrat in office for the past 12 years. Just
imagine.
Mr. Butterfield. You are voting seriously on the island. Is
that right. I mean, your constituents treat this thing very
seriously. Yes.
Mr. Sablan. Our participation is always for the most part
in the upper 80 percent. Unlike in our Nation, which it is, you
know, upwards of 50 or 60 percent.
Mr. Butterfield. Sure.
Mr. Sablan. And, of course, the process of [inaudible]
success of Mr. Weare is also good for the territories. Thank
you.
Mr. Butterfield. Thank you, sir.
Finally, to the gentleman from Guam, two things, two things
in plain English, two basic things that we can and should do.
Mr. San Nicolas. Thank you, Congressman. I agree with my
two colleagues, Congresswoman Plaskett on H.R. 1, as well as
the legislation referenced by Congressman Sablan.
As well, as I would like to put on the record, as I
mentioned in my testimony, H.R. 5526. Sir, as you know, if you
have any issue that you want to have addressed in the Senate,
you can walk over and talk to your Representative in the
Senate. Territories do not have that luxury. The challenge that
comes with that is that, you know, territorial issues and
concerns don't have a voice. And so, when we have things in the
CARES Act or the HEROES Act or even the HEALS Act, they are
crafted without the perspective of the territories when it is
being managed and handled on the Senate side. And that
inability for us to have even basic input is just so
destructive to our ability to advocate for representation for
our people. And as you see with us here today, just having even
delegate representation is a huge step forward. And I think
that getting that for our territories in the Senate is
something that--is an action step that we can do right now to
increase representation for our people.
Mr. Butterfield. Thank you. Thank all of you. And you have
my conditional unqualified support, as well as the chair. Thank
you very much.
Chairwoman Fudge. Thank you very much. Ranking Member
Davis, you are recognized.
Mr. Davis. Well, thank you, Madam Chair. And thank you to
the witnesses. This is a great opportunity to hear about
priorities. I am glad Ms. Plaskett was advocating for a task
force to have Congress look at the potential of changes for our
territories. I would support a provision like that. But let's
not kid ourselves: Throwing that into a 600-page bill named
H.R. 1 that was written before and cosponsored by every member
of the majority and announced the day of swearing in, people
didn't have as much input in that bill. And there are so many
bad things in that piece of legislation, like the first ever
taxpayer funding to go to our own congressional campaigns. My
constituents can't stand for that. And then, after that was
called out, it was changed to the first ever corporate money
directly going to our own campaigns. So, if we want to work
together, then let's work together on this. But we have got to
watch for what is happening right now in our territories or in
our States, in our elections that have been recently held.
Almost month ago, we had an election in New York City. We
still don't have the results. So many of the provisions that
dealt with elections were actually part of H.R. 1 and
instituted in States like New York that we don't even have the
results. What are we doing to fix this? What are we doing to
stop the fraud that happened in New Jersey? What are we doing
to stop the fraud that happened in Indiana? No, we are going to
put our head in the sand? All of the things that we found so
wrong, long before I was alive, that stopped people from being
able to vote are happening in our country right now by closing
polling locations. Making sure that people will only use one
certain type of process is disenfranchising tens of thousands
of people in our election process. That is wrong.
So, with that being said, Ms. Moolenaar, please tell us how
you in the Virgin Islands are able to prepare for this
pandemic, and what are you doing to stop what we have seen
happen in other States already just a few weeks ago?
Ms. Moolenaar. I indicated in my opening remarks in
testimony that, indeed, in the Virgin Islands, we are free from
all of the heinous assaults that we see happening nationwide,
and we are all very much concerned that this is happening in
the United States.
We have a supervisor of elections that I am disappointed
that she was not included in part of this discussion, but she
would have been able to indicate to you that, indeed, there are
rules and regulations and guidance that we are following that
prevent all of that, and we have been free of that.
As I indicated in my testimony, I can't promise we will
continue to do so, but, right now, we don't have that. Our big
concerns right now are, as all of the other witnesses have
pointed out, we are very much concerned about the fact that we
are not able to discuss in Congress on a full level with all
other citizens through their Representatives what our concerns
are, what our needs are. And I am so happy that the
representative from Guam has also included the statement that
we need also to have representatives also in the Senate. This
has to be changed.
And I believe that, I ask that you look at my last request
in my statement that we do need to have the matter of status
finally resolved within the territories, and we need to have
the support that would allow us to make meaningful decisions on
this matter. The Constitution has been changed. Rules
Committees--rules and committees in the House have been
changed. We can change, and we must change.
Mr. Davis. Well, thank you, Ms. Moolenaar. I appreciate
that. And, again, I know a lot of discussion in testimony has
been about having access to HAVA funds----
Ms. Moolenaar. Yes.
Mr. Davis [continuing]. And I think that is something we
can work together on in a bipartisan way. But at the same time,
we also have to follow the law. What is the Virgin Islands
doing to maintain their voter rolls?
Ms. Moolenaar. Again, that is a good question that our
supervisor for elections would have been able to answer. But I
know that they have not had any difficulties with doing so, and
we have not heard of any assaults against that. And I know that
it is being done on a regular basis. I have spoken with the
supervisor of elections on a number of issues, and she has
indeed indicated that they do look at voter rolls, and they are
updated on a regular basis.
Mr. Davis. Actually, I am out of time. I yield back. Thank
you.
Chairwoman Fudge. Thank you, Mr. Davis.
Mr. Aguilar, you are now recognized for five minutes.
Mr. Aguilar. Thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate you
having this hearing. This is critically important to hear from
our colleagues who represent the territories, as well as our
guests who presented testimony. And I am going to start with
them.
Ms. Moolenaar, what do you feel most--I mean, you talked
about representation, just like Delegate San Nicolas mentioned
as well. What do you feel most Americans need to know about
physically voting in the territories? What is often overlooked
and not understood? And I will ask Ms. Moolenaar, and then Mr.
Emanuel and Mr. Weare.
Ma'am, go ahead.
Ms. Moolenaar. Well, I did most of my education on the
mainland. And to tell you the truth, most Americans know very
little about the territories. But when I do indicate that we
did not have when I was in school, we did not have a voting
representative at any level and that finally, when they do
vote, the vote is considered inconsequential--they are not
included as part of the quorum in the House, as if they are not
there--people are stunned and shocked. I think that the vast
majority of Americans are completely unaware of the inequities
that are thrown to our citizens in the territories. I think
most Americans would be shocked to know that indeed these
conditions exist. And those Americans from the mainland who do
come to our territory come up to the rude awakening that they
could not vote for the President until they flew back to the
mainland as if there was something tainted on the place of the
territories.
So it is becoming known. I think we need to let most
Americans know--and I think if we did, there would be an
upswell of individuals to support the claims that we are making
in the territories that we need to be given our full rights as
citizens because we are behaving like full citizens: going to
war, paying taxes.
Mr. Aguilar. Thank you. Mr. Emanuel.
Mr. Emanuel. Yes, thank you very much for the question. I
think you are asking, what is it that citizens in the United
States need to know about the problems we are having? I would
align myself [inaudible] the Insular Cases [inaudible] exist,
they stated specifically that we are not having Anglo-Saxon
principals, but people in the Virgin Islands have gone to
Denmark for hundreds of years dealing with trial by jury,
dealing with elections, et cetera, as Dr. Moolenaar said. And,
also, another basis for the Insular Cases concerning the nature
of our [inaudible] didn't want to give district judges lifetime
tenures because, I guess, the unincorporated territorial status
was temporary. But we have been there for over 103 years, so I
don't know what temporary means in the American parlance.
So my point that that I think all Americans need to
understand and the Supreme Court is that the legal basis, if
there ever was one, the legal basis for having unincorporated
territories no longer exists. So we should be able to move
forward and provide all of those formal parts of the
Constitution, such as suffrage and all the other things to the
citizens in the territories and to other U.S. citizens when
they come here. That is basically what I wanted to say.
Mr. Aguilar. Thank you.
Mr. Weare.
Mr. Weare. I think most Americans would be--are surprised
to learn that there are U.S. citizens under the U.S. flag who
are completely disenfranchised. One other thing a lot people
don't realize is just how many Americans live in the
territories. So the population of the five populated
territories is actually greater than the population of the five
smallest States combined. The smallest States have 15 electors,
10 Senators, 5 Representatives in Congress, and the combined
population of almost 4 million in the territories have none of
those things.
There is also a lot of people who are surprised and kind of
assume that residents of territories vote for one party over
another. In Guam, for example, residents of Guam are swing
voters. There has actually been a straw poll where, while they
can't vote for President for real, each Presidential election
since 1980, they get a mark on a ballot who they would vote if
they could vote. And between 1980 and 2012, Guam voters
selected the eventual winner of the election a day ahead of the
rest of the country because Guam is on the other side of the
dateline.
So residents in territories are swing voters. This should
not be a partisan issue. Every American should be able to vote
wherever they live.
Mr. Aguilar. Thank you, Mr. Weare. I appreciate it. Thank
you to our guests for being here. You know, Mr. Davis made a
point in his opening remarks about the number of men and women
who serve in our armed services who come from the territories,
and on a per capita basis, the territories send more than
Illinois, more than California, more than any State in our
Union. And I think most Americans need to start connecting
those dots about the service to our country and the lack of
representation that we have.
I also want to say that I owe the Chair a coffee because
this might be the first hearing, Madam Chair, that Mr. Davis
hasn't mentioned ballot harvesting in California. So he is
not----
Mr. Davis. Ballot harvesting. Time is up. Ballot
harvesting.
Mr. Aguilar [continuing]. It is not a message today, even
though we know that the only voter fraud that happened in the
last election was in North Carolina. But, with that, Madam
Chair, I will yield back.
Chairwoman Fudge. Thank you very, very much.
Mr. Loudermilk, you are recognized for five minutes.
Mr. Loudermilk. Thank you, Madam Chair. And thank you for
allowing me to participate in this today. It is very
interesting conversation. And I agree with Mr. Davis that this
is something that a task force would be well advised to look
into and study in a bipartisan basis.
And I just briefly want to mention the ballot harvesting in
California because Mr. Davis refused to do that. So--but moving
on, Mr. Weare, in your opinion, do the respective territories
have the infrastructure in place to conduct a smooth Federal
election? For example, do the territories have the updated
voting machines, cybersecurity protections, and bipartisan
election observers to prevent against coercion and fraud?
Mr. Weare. I am not an election administration expert, but
I know having voted in many Federal elections myself in the
territories that they do follow the same practices, sometimes
for better or worse, as the rest of the country have
participated by absentee ballot while I was working for
Congresswoman Bordallo. And I know that election administrators
such as Congressman Sablan was for many years do the best they
can with the local and Federal resources to ensure elections--
fair elections are held every cycle.
Mr. Loudermilk. With the influx of mail ballots that we
have seen throughout the United States, do you think the
territories are equipped to handle a potential massive influx
of voters?
This is for Mr. Weare.
Mr. Weare. Sure, again, I am not an expert on those issues,
but I know that, with territories and how many people do travel
abroad, absentee voting and voting by mail is a process that
they are very familiar with, that they have supported. And,
usually, particularly in a smaller territory, given the smaller
number of voters involved, it is not--it is not a process that
is manageable.
Mr. Loudermilk. Well, thank you, and I also open that
question up to any of the delegates or any other guests.
Mr. Sablan. May I----
Mr. Loudermilk. Sure.
Mr. Sablan. May I, Mr. Loudermilk? Thank you. I conducted
elections in the Northern Marianas for 10 years. And, yes,
absentee voting, about 10 percent, a little bit over 10 percent
of our population vote by absentee because they moved to the
U.S. for medical, for educational purposes.
And, actually, I had an experience where a Navy sailor who
was in a submarine somewhere underwater actually wanted to
vote. And we had to immediately and urgently put out a
mechanism where he would allow us to expose his ballot, because
we would know how he voted, and actually allowed him to vote. I
don't know how they sent that transmission, but it came in by
fax.
And so, yes, we are able do that. And, yeah, I think it
would be wonderful because, right now, you can actually,
starting 10 days before the election, walk in for no reason and
ask for a ballot so you could vote by mail, even if you are--
just because you are on election day. So, yes, I feel the
territories are ready for mail-in ballots. That is my
experience, sir.
Ms. Plaskett. Mr. Loudermilk, this is Stacey Plaskett
again. I just want you to know that, under the CARES Act, the
Virgin Islands on the board of elections, based on the written
testimony of Caroline Fawkes, received $600,000 for protective
equipment and other resources to support elections during this
time period of COVID.
Additionally, the board of elections has extended the
period for early voting, which we have been doing increasingly
over each election cycle, extending the time for early voting,
which allows people to be able to do that and the social
distancing and have more time so that there is not a crowd at
the end. And mail-in ballots and absentee ballots, the
expansion of that for not having specific reasons or just as a
request, there is discussion at the board of elections about
allowing all ballots to be mailed. Those kinds of issues and
initiatives are being debated and discussed now.
Mr. Loudermilk. Thank you.
Chairwoman Fudge. I see two hands up, Mr. Loudermilk. Do
you want to continue or ask another question?
Mr. Loudermilk. No, I will just continue with these for the
remaining time.
Chairwoman Fudge. Ms. Moolenaar, you need to unmute
yourself.
Ms. Moolenaar. Thank you for the question. I am glad that
Congresswoman Plaskett responded because I was also going to
mention that the League of Women Voters did indeed speak with
our supervisor of elections, Ms. Fawkes, and she assured us
that indeed the system is up for--for the mail-in ballots
change. She indicated that mail-in voting has been in existence
for quite a while in the U.S. Virgin Islands because, as it was
pointed out by Mr. Weare, many individuals have moved to the
mainland, but they still maintain voting rights within the
territories. So the system is accustomed to that.
Ms. Fawkes also indicated that she is aware that the
tradition of going to the polls is a very strong cultural one
in the Virgin Islands. So, although, this is--the increase in
absentee ballots is a possibility, she recognizes that the
system will definitely not be overwhelmed by an increase in
absentee ballots. So the Virgin Islands definitely is prepared
for this.
Chairwoman Fudge. Thank you.
Mr. Emanuel. Yes, I think the Congressman's question also
went to the----
Chairwoman Fudge. Mr. Emanuel.
Mr. Emanuel. I am sorry.
Chairwoman Fudge. You are going to need to be very, very
brief. The gentleman's time actually expired, but go ahead.
Mr. Emanuel. Oh, I am sorry. I wanted to say that we also
changed the machines. We used to have Shouptronic machines. We
have machines that meet HAVA requirements. We have a paper
trail. And we have a number of other measures in place to
ensure the integrity of the elections. Thank you.
Mr. Loudermilk. Thank you. I yield back.
Chairwoman Fudge. Thank you very much.
Mr. Davis, do you have any closing statements or remarks?
Mr. Davis. Ballot harvesting is bad. Thank you very much,
Madam Chair.
Thanks to my colleagues and very educational today.
I certainly hope we can come together and work on some of
these issues that were brought to our attention today. You have
willing partners in the Republican Conference, and I look
forward to sitting down and discussing some of these in more
details with each of the--each of my colleagues from the
territories.
So thanks again, Madam Chair. I appreciate the opportunity.
And thank you to all of the witnesses too.
Chairwoman Fudge. I thank you all. Thank you so much. And
let me just say a few words in closing. One, if my Republican
colleagues would like for us to pull out the language that Ms.
Plaskett has been talking about from H.R. 1 and make it a
standalone, I would be happy to do that. If that is something
that you guys want to cosponsor with me, I am happy to do it.
Secondly, as we talk about how elections are run in the
territories, it clearly has nothing to do with the status of
voting for the President of the United States. I mean, my
colleagues see something sinister around every single corner.
But let me just say the status and your voting rights and the
problems in New York have absolutely nothing to do with
allowing the territories their full citizenship and their right
to vote.
I would now just want to thank all of the witnesses and the
members for their questions. The Members of the Subcommittee
may have additional questions for the witnesses, and we will
ask you to respond to those in writing.
The hearing record will be held open for these responses. I
thank you all. I thank all of our witnesses for your testimony
today.
And, without objection, the Subcommittee stands adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 11:26 a.m., the Subcommittee was adjourned.]
[all]