[House Hearing, 118 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                     2022 MIDTERMS LOOK BACK SERIES: ELECTION 
                                OBSERVER ACCESS

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

                                HEARING

                               BEFORE THE

                       SUBCOMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS

                                 OF THE

                   COMMITTEE ON HOUSE ADMINISTRATION

                       HOUSE OF REPRESERNTATIVES

                    ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION

                               __________

                             MARCH 23, 2023

                               __________

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


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                   COMMITTEE ON HOUSE ADMINISTRATION

                    BRYAN STEIL, WISCONSIN, Chairman

BARRY LOUDERMILK, Georgia            JOSEPH MORELLE, New York,
MORGAN GRIFFITH, Virginia                 Ranking Member
GREG MURPHY, North Carolina          TERRI A. SEWELL, Alabama
STEPHANIE BICE, Oklahoma             DEREK KILMER, Washington
MIKE CAREY, Ohio                     NORMA TORRES, California
ANTHONY D'ESPOSITO, New York
LAUREL LEE, Florida

                      Tim Monahan, Staff Director
                  Jamie Fleet, Minority Staff Director

                                 ------                                

                       SUBCOMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS

                       LAUREL LEE, FLORIDA, Chair

BARRY LOUDERMILK, Georgia            TERRI A. SEWELL, Alabama,
STEPHANIE BICE, Oklahoma                  Ranking Member
ANTHONY D'ESPOSITO, New York         NORMA TORRES, California

                Caleb Hays, Subcommittee Staff Director
                         
                         
                         C  O  N  T  E  N  T  S

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                                                                   Page

                           Opening Statments

The Honorable Laurel Lee, Representative from the state of 
  Florida........................................................     1
The Honorable Terri A. Sewell, Representative from the state of 
  Alabama........................................................     3
The Honorable Bryan Steil, Representative from the state of 
  Wisconsin......................................................    12
The Honorable Joseph Morelle, Representative from the state of 
  New York.......................................................    13
The Honorable Norma Torres, Representative from the state of 
  California.....................................................    62

                           Witness Statements

Lynn Taylor......................................................    18
Josh Findlay.....................................................    27
Michael Cunnington...............................................    32
Lisa Lyons.......................................................    36
Benjamin Hovland.................................................    40

                       Submissions for the Record

Article from Reuters "Stop the Steal"............................     5
Congressional Election Observation and Contested Elections: A 
  Primer.........................................................    48

 
        2022 MIDTERMS LOOK BACK SERIES: ELECTION OBSERVER ACCESS

                              ----------                              


                        Thursday, March 23, 2023

                  House of Representatives,
                         Subcommittee on Elections,
                         Committee on House Administration,
                                                    Washington, DC.

    The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:30 a.m., in 
room 1310, Longworth House Office Building, Hon. Laurel Lee
    [Chair of the Subcommittee] presiding.
    Present: Representatives Lee, Loudermilk, D'Esposito, 
Steil, Morelle, Sewell, and Torres.
    Staff present: Tim Monahan, Staff Director; Caleb Hays, 
Deputy Staff Director, General Counsel, Acting Parliamentarian; 
Hillary Lassiter, Clerk; Jordan Wilson, Director of Member 
Services; Thomas Lane, Elections Counsel & Director of 
Elections Coalitions; Alex Deise, Counsel; Jamie Fleet, 
Minority Staff Director; Khalil Abboud, Minority Deputy Staff 
Director, Chief Counsel; Sarah Nasta, Minority Elections 
Counsel; Sean Wright, Minority Senior Elections Counsel; Eddie 
Flaherty, Minority Chief Clerk; and Andrew Garcia, Minority 
Special Assistant.
     Chair Lee. The Subcommittee on Elections will come to 
order. I note that a quorum is present.
    Without objection, the chair may declare a recess at any 
time.
    Without objection, the meeting record will remain open for 
5 legislative days so that members may submit any materials 
they wish included therein.
    Thank you, Ranking Member Sewell, members of the 
Subcommittee, and our witnesses for joining us today.
    During our first Subcommittee hearing, we heard from state 
and local election officials about the work they're doing to 
administer safe and secure elections that voters can trust. 
Today, we'll continue our 2020 Midterms Look Back Series with a 
discussion on the important role that election observers played 
in the last election cycle in helping to strengthen voter 
confidence in the elections processes and outcomes.
    Election administration is a core government responsibility 
that must be conducted in the open to build trust and 
understanding among voters. Election observers help to make 
that a reality. Election observation provides an independent 
perspective of the election administration process to reassure 
voters of its integrity or flag issues for correction. It's 
simple. A healthy election system includes meaningful election 
observer access, and we commend the many state and local 
election officials and poll watchers across country who worked 
tirelessly in 2022 to make this key election integrity process 
work effectively.
    While there are different types election observers, 
including party and campaign observers, citizen group 
observers, congressional observers, and others, they all have a 
common goal of providing voters an independent perspective of 
the public process of election administration. Even just the 
presence of election observers on the ground inherently 
increases election integrity and voter confidence. Voters know 
the election administration process will be monitored and 
election officials know they have a direct line to the 
interested parties, as they work to resolve any issues that 
might come up.
    Observers are present to watch the election administration 
process, to ask questions, and to build an independent record 
for education, certification, resolution, or for other 
purposes, but never to interfere with the process. In the case 
of congressional observers, they assure Congress that the 
person who was elected was done so as a result of free and fair 
election, which is a key constitutional responsibility.
    While state law generally governs election observation, the 
Constitution also gives Congress a role, providing for 
observation of congressional elections by each respective 
Chamber. For years, both sides of the aisle in the House of 
Representatives have trained and deployed congressional staff 
to observe House elections across the country. For example, 
during the 2022 midterms, the Committee on House Administration 
Republicans offered multiple trainings and deployed dozens of 
congressional staff who volunteered to observe elections in 
many States across our country, including Arizona, California, 
Colorado, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, 
Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
    The independent record created by congressional observers 
is necessary in the event of an election contest like we saw in 
the House during 2021, when some House Members attempted to 
overturn the election of Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks 
in Iowa's Second congressional District. A political party or 
campaign observer plays a key role in ensuring that both sides 
of any issue are represented in any area where ballots are 
processed and counted. In fact, for decades many states have 
required political parties and candidates to name observers so 
that this bipartisan balance is maintained and each team has 
its people in the room.
    For similar reasons, the work that citizen groups have done 
to recruit and train professional poll workers is critical to 
promoting voter confidence. In order to be effective, it is 
critical that all election observers not only have the 
appropriate training on the role and responsibilities of 
observers but also meaningful access to every aspect of the 
election administration process that involves ballots, election 
equipment or voters. This means that observers must be able to 
see and hear election administration processes clearly and 
effectively to view documents and equipment, and must have 
their questions answered by expert officials.
    Unfortunately, in recent years, some election offices have 
blocked observer access by using physical barriers, such as 
cardboard over windows, or using outdated pandemic rationales, 
including unreasonable distances that required observers to use 
binoculars to view the process. Still others have denied access 
to Republican and Democrat congressional observers based on a 
misunderstanding of the process or the law. Those restrictions 
rightfully raised questions among voters, who deserve 
transparent, free, and secure elections.
    Through an open and productive observation process, we can 
increase public confidence in elections for voters of all 
political parties and enhance election operations without 
adding unnecessary burden or disruption to the election 
administrators. Today, we'll hear from experts about why we 
must ensure that election observers have access. Election 
observation should never be a partisan issue. Regardless of 
one's party preference, all voters benefit from having well-
trained observers on the ground. I look forward to working 
together to ensure that the unnecessary restrictions we've seen 
play out in recent years do not continue, and, instead, we work 
to increase access and transparency for all voters.
    I now recognize Ranking Member Ms. Sewell for 5 minutes for 
the purpose of providing an opening statement.
    Ms. Sewell. Good morning, and thank you, Chairwoman Lee, 
for welcoming us today.
    Observation at the poll and during the voting process, 
counting, and certification process is a critical role and a 
critical tool to increase transparency in electoral process and 
provides the public, candidates, political parties, nonpartisan 
entities, international organizations, and others with 
important insight and oversight of the electoral process.
    Additionally, for decades, the House of Representatives 
operated its own election observer program. It does so under 
the power granted to the House in Article I, section 5, of the 
United States Constitution to, quote, be the judge of the 
elections, returns, and qualification of its own members, end 
quote. Observers are able to gather facts in an objective, 
nonobtrusive, bipartisan manner on congressional races that may 
be close and could possibly come before the House in the form 
of a contest. Indeed, there is a longstanding practice of 
working collaboratively on a bipartisan basis to send observers 
to congressional districts as a part of this program.
    The role of an election observer, unless otherwise 
authorized by law, is just do that: to observe and monitor the 
election and post-election process without violating the 
privacy of a voter or disrupting the election. Election 
officials have made significant strides in increasing 
transparency in the electoral process and providing an 
opportunity for election observation.
    For example, some now livestream the process and counting 
of ballots, as well as the canvassing and certification of 
election results, so anyone can watch and observe the process 
for themselves. Many others allow the public to view the 
testing of voting machines before an election.
    We must be clear: While transparency is always preferred, 
there is no evidence of widespread fraud in the United States' 
elections nor is there any evidence of widespread malfeasance 
on the part of election officials, their staffs, or election 
volunteers.
    Furthermore, election workers are operating in an 
environment of increasing threats and harassment and are 
battling against a barrage of election-related mis-and 
disinformation. Election officials must balance the safety and 
security of their staffs and the ballots with the need for 
transparency and observer access.
    The Brooks Brothers riot of Florida in 2000 and the armed 
persons outside the elected facility in Maricopa, Arizona, and 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 2020 are illustrations of how a 
situation can quickly become a dangerous one.
    We also cannot ignore the legacy of voter intimidation at 
the polls or by poll watchers and challengers. Thus, a balance 
must be struck, one that provides all the necessary observer 
access while keeping in mind the lessons of past elections. 
While there is much room for improvement as well as 
implementing new transparency and security measures, they all 
take resources, resources many local election officials may not 
have to spare. It is, therefore, imperative that Congress 
provide state and local election officials with the funding 
resources they need to implement best practices for election 
observation, voter engagement, training, and, election 
administration.
    I look forward to hearing today's testimony and working 
closely with the chairwoman to find ways to strike the balance 
between ensuring transparency and access to the electoral 
process and safety.
    Thank you, and I yield back the balance of my time.
    Ms. Sewell. Before I do so, actually, Madam Chair, I ask 
unanimous consent to enter into the record an October 13th, 
2022, article from Reuters entitled ``'Stop the steal' 
supporters train thousands of U.S. poll observers'' in a 
Reuters report concerning election officials and documented 
evidence of intimidation.
    Chair Lee. Without objection, material adopted.
    [The information referred to follows:]
    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    
    Chair Lee. I now recognize full Committee Chair Bryan Steil 
for the purpose of delivering opening remarks.
    The Chairman. Thank you, Chair Lee, Ranking Member Sewell, 
and members of the Subcommittee and witnesses for joining us 
today.
    As part of the 2022 Midterm Look Back Series, we're engaged 
in a conversation to highlight what states have done well and 
to reflect on lessons learned. Today, we'll continue that 
discussion by examining the role of election observers, who are 
essential to a healthy election administration system. Election 
observers simply means more transparency. Observers provide an 
independent and essential perspective on the elections 
administration process.
    Ultimately, election observers is one of the best tools in 
our arsenal to promote voter confidence in election processes 
and outcomes. Most elections officials across the country 
welcome and value election observers as partners to promote 
voter confidence and to help identify areas for improvement.
    Unfortunately, there are some election officials who have 
restricted access and hindered the work of election observers 
in recent years. That's why I have introduced the confirmation 
of congressional Observer Access Act last Congress to promote 
access for observers working on behalf of Congress. The 
Constitution already requires states to allow access for 
designated congressional election observers to observe election 
administration procedures in an election for Federal office.
    But we have heard from some officials that a statutory 
citation of convenience would help them. The bill doesn't 
change Federal law or impose any burden beyond what the 
Constitution already requires. However, it would go a long way 
to ensure that we're working with state and local officials who 
actually administer our election. This includes access to 
polling places and other facilities where ballots are cast, 
processed, tabulated, and canvassed, and the results certified, 
where voter registration activities occur before an election 
and where election administration procedures to prepare for the 
election or carry out post-election recounts.
    While in general Congress should respect the determination 
of state authorities with respect to the election of members to 
each Chamber of Congress, the Constitution requires that each 
Chamber to serve as its own final judge of elections, 
qualifications, and returns of its own members. We must also 
ensure that every person who was sworn in was elected by their 
constituents in a free and fair election. The Designated 
congressional Observers Act assists Congress in developing its 
own factual record in preparation for any potential election 
contest.
    Congress has deployed election observers to observe 
congressional elections in states for decades. They must ensure 
they have necessary access. This Committee runs the House 
Election Observer Program, working hard the past several 
Congresses to expand and improve the program. We've trained and 
deployed congressional staff to election sites across county. 
We know that greater transparency leads to increased voter 
confidence, which in turn leads to increased voter turnout. I 
look forward to working in a nonpartisan way to continue 
highlighting the key role election observers play in the 
election administration process.
    Thank you, Chair Lee. I yield back.
    Chair Lee. Thank you, Chairman Steil.
    I now recognize full committee Ranking Member Mr. Morelle 
for the purpose of delivering opening remarks.
    Mr. Morelle. Good morning. Thank you, Chairwoman Lee, for 
yielding time. Thank you to Ranking Member Sewell, and all of 
my colleagues.
    Election observers and observer access are a longstanding 
and necessary part of the electoral process. The House of 
Representatives itself has been conducting an Election Observer 
Program for decades, exercising the constitutional authority, 
which has been mentioned by my colleagues, under the Judging 
Clause of Article I, section 5, clause 1, of the U.S. 
Constitution, to send observers to gather information in 
elections that may eventually come before the House in the form 
of a contest.
    House observers conduct their work in an unobtrusive 
bipartisan manner. I agree that we should continue to work to 
improve transparency and education around our elections, but 
that also needs to be balanced with the safety and security of 
election workers to ensure voter privacy and the security of 
ballots and voting equipment. Voters must be free to cast a 
ballot without intimidation, and election workers must be free 
to process and count those ballots without fear of harassment, 
threats, or harm.
    Additionally, as state and local election officials work to 
improve access, transparency, and security, they need funding 
to do so. Federal elections are on the ballot in every State 
every 2 years, and we should fully fund their security and 
administration.
    Tragically, this country has a long history of voter 
intimidation. The Republican National Committee itself, for 
example, was subject to a consent decree for several decades 
for alleged voter intimidation tactics. In recent years, lies 
and disinformation about the Presidential election fueled armed 
protests in Arizona 2020 as ballots were being counted.
    In testimony before the full Committee in 2021, former 
Maricopa County recorder and now secretary of State in Arizona 
Adrian Fontes detailed, for example, how a staff member of his 
was pulled outside the building where ballots were being 
processed and counted and was cornered by apparently armed 
members of a protest, requiring intervention from local law 
enforcement.
    At that same hearing, Janice Winfrey, city clerk of 
Detroit, Michigan, testified that, during the tabulation of the 
absentee ballots, multiple challengers had to be removed 
because of disruptive behavior.
    Philadelphia City Commissioner Lisa Deeley also testified 
before this Subcommittee in 2022 on how, during the ballot 
counting process following the 2020 election, she was escorted 
everywhere by two police officers, even when going to the 
bathroom inside the convention center, where workers were 
supposed to be safe while processing ballots.
    In Arizona, again in 2022, individuals armed and in 
tactical gear showed up to, quote/unquote, monitor ballot drop 
boxes. And these examples are not the only ones in recent 
years.
    There is no doubt: America's elections are fair and secure. 
Election observation is a critical part of the democratic 
process. We can, and we must strike a balance between 
transparency and safety, and in search of that balance, I'm 
looking forward to today's testimony and discussion.
    Thank you, Chairwoman Lee.
    I yield back.
    Chair Lee. Thank you, Ranking Member Morelle.
    Without objection, all other members' opening statements 
will be made part of the hearing record if they are submitted 
to the committee clerk by 5 p.m. today.
    Pursuant to paragraph (b) of Committee rule 6, the 
witnesses will please stand and raise your right hand.
    [Witnesses sworn.]
    Chair Lee. Thank you. You may be seated.
    Let the record show that the witnesses answered in the 
affirmative.
    I will now introduce our witnesses. Our first witness, Ms. 
Lynn Taylor, is the president and cofounder of the Virginia 
Institute for Public Policy, an independent nonpartisan 
education and research organization that develops and promotes 
public policy consistent with the Virginia tradition of 
individual liberty, dynamic entrepreneurial capitalism, and 
constitutionally limited government. In addition, Ms. Taylor is 
a cofounder and chair of the Virginia Fair Elections Coalition 
and, as of February 1st, 2023, serves as chairman of the 
Election Integrity Network, a project of the Virginia 
Institute.
    Our next witness, Mr. Josh Findlay, currently serves as the 
first ever National Director of Election integrity for the 
Republican National Committee, where he is responsible for 
building the organization's national election integrity 
infrastructure. Mr. Findlay's legal portfolio includes 
Presidential ballot access, national convention delegate 
elections, and electoral college selection, in addition to 
serving as legal counsel to President Donald Trump's 2020 
reelection campaign.
    Our next witness, Mr. Mike Cunnington, previously served on 
the Summit County, Ohio, Board of Elections as an 
administrator, overseeing the program for election day workers, 
and as a policy aide for a Member of Ohio's congressional 
delegation. During his time as a congressional staff member, 
Mr. Cunnington also served as an election policy advisor to the 
Committee on House Administration. Most importantly, Mr. 
Cunnington served as a congressional election observer during 
his tenure with the House and has continued to work with the 
Committee to train observers each election cycle.
    Our next witness, Ms. Lisa Lyons, is serving her second 
term as county clerk and register of deeds in Kent County, 
Michigan. Prior to serving at the county level, Ms. Lyons 
represented her community in the Michigan House of 
Representatives from 2010 to 2016. As county clerk, Ms. Lyons 
is responsible for three major functions of county government: 
administering all elections within Kent County, preserving 
vital county records, and maintaining and safeguarding all 
circuit court files.
    Finally, Commissioner Benjamin Hovland, confirmed on 
January 2nd, 2019, by the U.S. Senate, currently serves as Vice 
Chair of the Election Assistance Commission and is the 
designated Federal officer for the local leadership council. 
With over 20 years of experience in elections, Commissioner 
Hovland's career has focused on legal issues related to 
campaign finance regulation and the administration of State and 
Federal elections, including recounts, poll worker training, 
voter registration list maintenance, statewide data base 
matching, voter education, and ballot initiative litigation. We 
appreciate our witnesses being here today, and look forward to 
your testimony.
    As a reminder, we have read your written statement, and it 
will appear in full in the hearing record. Under Committee rule 
9, you are to limit your oral presentation to a brief summary 
of your written statement, unless I extend the time period in 
consultation with Ranking Member Sewell. Please remember to 
press the button on the microphone in front of you so that it 
is on and members can hear you. When you begin to speak, the 
light in front of you will turn green. After 4 minutes, it will 
turn yellow. When the red light comes on, your 5 minutes has 
expired, and we ask that you please wrap up.
    I now recognize Ms. Taylor for 5 minutes.

  STATEMENT OF LYNN TAYLOR, PRESIDENT, VIRGINIA INSTITUTE FOR 
   PUBLIC POLICY; JOSH FINDLAY, NATIONAL ELECTION INTEGRITY 
 DIRECTOR, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE; MICHAEL CUNNINGTON, 
FORMER CONGRESSIONAL OBSERVER; THE HONORABLE BENJAMIN HOVLAND, 
  COMMISSIONER, U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION; AND LISA 
           LYONS, COUNTY CLERK, KENT COUNTY, MICHIGAN

                    STATEMENT OF LYNN TAYLOR

    Ms. Taylor. Chair Lee, Ranking Member Sewell, and members 
of the subcommittee, my name is Lynn Taylor. I am president of 
the Virginia Institute for Public Policy. More importantly for 
this hearing today, I am the chairman of the Virginia Fair 
Elections Coalition and the Election Integrity Network. Thank 
for this opportunity to appear before you today to set the 
record straight on a topic about which the media and government 
agencies have been misleading the American people for the past 
2 years; that is that poll watchers in elections are somehow a 
problem for the election system and election officials.
    Let me be clear about one singularly important point: 
Citizen observers and poll watchers are a fundamental and vital 
part of the election process, and the involvement of citizens 
is the surest way to restore the confidence of the American 
people in the truth and honesty of our elections.
    State laws describe who appoints poll observers, what their 
roles are, what the observers can do or not do, and what they 
are allowed to observe. Poll watchers are an integral part of 
the election codes of virtually every state in the Nation. But 
there has been a steady drumbeat of the media, the current 
administration, and partisan nonprofit organizations advancing 
the false narrative that citizen poll watchers are unnecessary 
or even a threat to democracy. The truth and reality of the 
matter is that citizen poll watchers are a key component in 
protecting our Republic.
    In Virginia, where I serve as president of the Virginia 
Institute for Public Policy, election integrity advocates and 
leaders gather to analyze the election systems in our state. We 
began to coalesce in 2021 into local task forces led by citizen 
volunteers, and we formed the Virginia Fair Elections 
Coalition, the VFE, which I chair.
    The coalition began meeting weekly in 2021 and continues 
today as we recruit, train, and deploy concerned citizens from 
across the Commonwealth of Virginia to become involved as 
volunteer election observers and leaders, not just at election 
time but year in and year out. Virginia's election system has 
been upended by so called reforms where we now have 45 days of 
early voting, no voter identification, same-day registration, 
and a constant push for unsupervised voting by mail.
    It is not a system that inspires confidence in the 
integrity of the outcome. But VFE's members determined that we 
were not going to whine over what had happened with the changes 
in our laws, and we would do whatever we could to protect the 
integrity of the election in spite of the laws that took away 
transparency in our election processes. We focused on 
recruiting, training, and deploying poll observers to cover as 
many shifts as possible, beginning with the first day of early 
voting in September 2021.
    We trained approximately 4,500 volunteers who covered an 
unprecedented 85 percent of the 14,000 shifts necessary for a 
45-day election season. What did those observers do? They 
observed. They worked. They watched. They documented. And they 
saw issues and problems that they helped to resolve, both 
before and after voting began. For example, one local task 
force noticed boxes of returned mail at the local election 
office and asked what it was. They were informed by the 
registrar's office that these were letters sent out by the 
registrar to voters at their registration address that had been 
returned undeliverable. Those volunteers came back to the VFE 
weekly call, reported what they had found, and asked what is 
supposed to be done with those undeliverable addresses.
    Our Virginia elections law expert, a former state electoral 
board member, advised that information is required by state law 
to be entered into the voter data base, and a voter whose 
letter is returned undeliverable becomes inactive and must take 
action in order to cast a vote. The volunteers returned to the 
registrar's office armed with the statute and informed the 
registrar what the law requires. The registrar said he had no 
idea about this law and immediately instructed the staff to 
start entering the information into the voter data base as the 
statute required.
    Our motto is ``be right, be polite.'' Our goal is to assist 
election administrators in complying with State law and to do 
so in a congenial and cooperative manner. And we have found 
that many times failure to adhere to the law is not nefarious 
or intentional but is a result of innocent mistakes or failure 
to be aware of statutory requirements.
    We are frequently thanked for bringing these oversights to 
officials' attention. In 2022----
    The Chairman.
    [Presiding.] I am going to ask you to keep your remarks 
tight here, maybe just a quick wrap up of your remarks. The 
full remarks will submitted to the record.
    Ms. Taylor. I will be happy to do that.
    We simply believe that citizen observers belong in the 
election offices as recognized by the laws of virtually every 
state. Our mission is to keep--the greatest challenge is the 
loss of confidence in our election system by the people of this 
country.
    Thank you for this opportunity to speak with you today, and 
I'm happy to answer any questions.
    [The prepared statement of Ms. Taylor follows:]
    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    
    The Chairman. Thank you very much, Ms. Taylor.
    Mr. Findlay, you're now recognized for 5 minutes.

                   STATEMENT OF JOSH FINDLAY

    Mr. Findlay. Good morning, Chairman Steil, Ranking Member 
Sewell, and members of the Subcommittee on Elections. Thank you 
for giving me the opportunity to testify today on election 
observer access, which has been a key focus of my work as the 
national director of election integrity for the Republican 
National Committee.
    Despite what you see in headlines and on social media, 
those who work to promote responsible election observation know 
that it is an essential and time-honored aspect of our Nation's 
democratic process. Working day in and day out to recruit, to 
train, and shift volunteer poll watchers in a responsible 
manner might be referred to by some as the blocking and 
tackling, or the basics of an election, and from experience, I 
view that as a fair assessment.
    As I have often said to volunteers, as both Republican and 
Democrat volunteers have said to me, the best and most 
successful election day is an incredibly boring one. However, 
that does not make this work any less important. It is my 
belief, and I think the belief of many members of this 
Committee, that ensuring bipartisan election observation is a 
necessary plank of our Nation's obligation to administer free, 
fair, and transparent elections.
    Observation creates transparency. Transparency creates 
trust. It also bears mentioning that partisan election 
observation has been part of our Nation's political process 
since the 18th century. Given that poll watching is a statutory 
party function in many States, the Republican party and 
specifically the Republican National Committee, have a clear 
role to play in this process.
    Meeting this moment successfully in 2022 required the 
construction of a comprehensive election observation program. 
To carry that out, we recruited, evaluated, and hired 17 civic-
minded individuals to serve as election integrity state 
directors.
    We then worked with the RNC's legal and communications 
departments to create a comprehensive training program, 
including the uniformed distribution of state-specific training 
products like literature, training presentations, and other 
materials. The RNC also provided State counsel to all of its 
election integrity State directors to ensure compliance with 
all state and federal laws. We created an organized program 
aimed at making it easier to vote and harder to cheat.
    Once we built this structure, we found out that there were 
plenty of Americans who wanted to get involved in the process 
by learning how to be a poll observer. Our election integrity 
directors connected with those volunteers. The RNC vetted those 
potential volunteers, and we trained those who passed the 
vetting process to become election observers. We conducted 
these trainings while constantly disseminating and adhering to 
the RNC's poll watching principles. These are the principles 
that we required our volunteers to follow while conducting 
election observation.
    I'd like to submit them for the record as follows: 1, be 
respective and courteous to other volunteers and election 
officials; 2, follow instructions provided by election 
officials; 3, do not interact with voters; 4, do not disrupt, 
obstruct, or interfere with the voting process; 5, know and 
follow your training, including on the applicable laws for 
election observers; 6, direct any questions to appropriate 
staff and do so politely; 7, carry required volunteer 
credentials and identification as required during the shift; 8, 
arrive on time and only take notes; 9, do not interact with the 
media without prior approval; and, 10, contact the RNC's 
election integrity team immediately if you are ever in doubt 
about how to approach an issue or you witness any potential 
violations of election law.
    These principles were the foundation of our program. Anyone 
who did not commit to these principles to conduct election 
observation in a courteous, respectful way could not be part of 
the program. The RNC required all of its trainings to include 
these principles. By election day, the RNC's Election Integrity 
Program had conducted over 5,000 trainings and trained over 
80,000 poll watchers and poll workers across the country.
    I want to be clear: This is a win for the political 
process. Any time that Americans, Republican or Democrat, 
volunteer by the thousands to help ensure that our political 
process works, that is a victory for this country. That is the 
story of our election integrity efforts. The RNC believes that 
election integrity promotes transparency and that transparency 
creates trust. The RNC created a nationwide accountable 
election observation program that recruited and trained 
volunteers in massive numbers.
    I look forward to talking more about why election 
observation is important, why the RNC has an important role in 
election observation, and the work ahead to secure free, fair, 
and transparent elections.
    Thank you for your time.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Findlay follows:]
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    The Chairman. Thank you very much, Mr. Findlay.
    Mr. Cunnington, you are recognized for 5 minutes.

                STATEMENT OF MICHAEL CUNNINGTON

    Mr. Cunnington. Chairman Steil, Ranking Member Sewell, 
members of the Committee on House Administration, Subcommittee 
on Elections, thank you for the opportunity to testify today as 
part of the 2022 Midterms Look Back Series on election observer 
access.
    I truly appreciate that this committee is seeking 
perspectives from those who have actually spent time as 
elections administrators. As a former secretary of state 
herself, I'm sure Chair Lee would also agree that the 
experience of working in elections administration provides a 
unique perspective when discussing the functions of our 
election system. As noted in my bio, I previously spent time as 
an administrator for the Summit County, Ohio, Board of 
Elections, where I hired, trained, and maintained a system of 
over 2,000 individuals to be available to do the important work 
of managing the polls on election day.
    Just for good measure, I still take the time during each 
election to serve as the voting location manager for four 
precincts in my home county. So, needless to say, when I was 
working for a member of Ohio's congressional delegation and I 
found out about the Election Observer Program here in the 
Committee on House Administration, I said yes as fast as I 
could.
    I understand that this is a retrospective about the 2022 
elections, but I do understand--I do feel that my experience in 
2020 provides a good perspective on some of the challenges and 
opportunities of this program. The Election Observer Program is 
limited to employees of the House in order to build an 
independent record in the event of a contested election. This 
function helps the House to be ensured that the actual winner 
is seated. It is very important to note that House employees 
that are deployed receive extensive training prior to election 
day.
    Some of the issues covered in the training include basic 
principles of election administration and emphasizing core 
concepts about the neutrality of the program, such as the fact 
that the congressional observers cannot touch ballots or 
advocate on behalf of candidates. I will note that, as somebody 
that no longer works for Congress, I do wish that there was a 
way to get alumni back into the program.
    My series of deployments in 2020 began the day after the 
election and ran until about the week before Christmas. I was 
deployed in four locations, including the contentious post-
election scenarios in the Iowa Second and New York 22d races. 
The Iowa Second race, where now Congresswoman Mariannette 
Miller-Meeks won by 6 votes out of approximately 390,000 cast, 
truly shows how important the Election Observer Program can be. 
During my deployment in Iowa, I sat and watched as the recount 
board worked through many issues on reconciling counts. There 
were a lot of different issues that popped up in that race, and 
without the Election Observer Program, it would have probably 
been very confusing to try to relay all that back here to the 
Committee on House Administration.
    Just in Scott County alone, Representative Miller-Meeks' 
lead shrank from election night by about 30 to 40 votes during 
the recount. It was one of the largest vote shifts during the 
rate count of any county in the district, largely because of an 
issue related to tallying the absentee precincts. I got to sit 
there and watch as the county recount board worked through 
issues, such as double bubbles or hesitation marks, as we call 
them in election administration, and we relayed that back 
through contemporaneous records by both Republican and 
Democratic staff.
    During my Pittsburgh, Davenport, and upstate New York 
deployments, I was also partnered with Democratic staffers that 
were deployed. The Pittsburgh deployment was an interesting 
example because, in the Allegheny County office, there--it's a 
large warehouse, and at the time, the Presidential election had 
not been called in Pennsylvania, and so there were 
international media and a lot of observers there. My Democratic 
colleague and I agreed that we needed access to certain parts 
of the warehouse beyond what the political party observers 
noted had, and we worked together in that way with the 
Allegheny County officials.
    This is a good opportunity to note the difference between 
the House Election Observer Program and political party 
observers. House observers are there to build the record for 
this committee. They are not there to advocate on behalf of 
political candidates. They are there just to build that record. 
I would note that the explicit constitutional authority for the 
House to be the judge of its own Membership and the important 
role that the EOP provides in building an independent record in 
the event of a contest, it is vital for House employees to be 
able to access all areas of a local election administration 
building.
    In the end, you know, we were able to access many of the 
areas that we needed. However, there were other staff in places 
like Arizona and Virginia that had less ability to do so. I 
believe that a statutory citation for the program not only 
gives clarification to the program but also allows employees of 
this committee to engage with the Election Observer Program or 
election administration community to do education on the 
program.
    Thank you for the opportunity to testify here, and I will 
take any questions.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Cunnington follows:]
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    The Chairman. Thank you very much, Mr. Cunnington.
    Ms. Lyons, you are now recognized for 5 minutes.

                    STATEMENT OF LISA LYONS

    Ms. Lyons. Good morning, Chairman Steil, Ranking Member 
Sewell, and members of the committee, it is truly a privilege 
and a pleasure to be before you today. The communities and 
voters I serve are probably not too different from those you 
represent in your districts. Kent County is one of Michigan's 
fastest growing and its fourth largest county with a population 
of just over 650,000 residents. Just before the November 2020 
election, we surpassed about 500,000 voters, who are spread 
through 30 townships and cities, including Michigan's second 
largest city, Grand Rapids.
    In the 6 years that I have served as clerk, our team has 
administered 20 elections, 3 or 4 each year. I like to say 
that, in Kent County, we do elections often, and we do them 
well. While every election is a huge undertaking, I view each 
opportunity--each as an opportunity to serve as an ambassador 
to the public, educating and informing them on the process and 
the many ways they can and should get involved in their 
elections. I grew up on a farm but also around politics, and 
from my upbringing, as well as my time serving in the Michigan 
legislature, I gained an understanding of elections that many 
others likely weren't exposed to outside of their high school 
government class.
    I understand fully the unique ways Michigan's elections are 
structured and the many checks and balances in place at every 
stage of the process, and I have confidence in those elements. 
But, as the clerk of a Bellwether county who was on the front 
lines of 2020, I know full well that I represent voters of all 
political leanings who question whether they can or should have 
faith in their elections. And it's my job to do everything I 
can to share what I know, that while there are certainly areas 
in which we can improve, they can and should be confident that 
their elections are secure, transparent, fair, and accurate.
    I often tell folks: But don't just take my word for it; 
come see for yourself. It's a trust but verify thing. In 
Michigan, there are numerous ways for those interested to 
observe every step of the elections process, from pre-election, 
where we test our equipment and approve ballots for printing, 
to voting before or on election day and at each critical post-
election process, such as the canvas and certification of 
results, recounts, and audits.
    Before I go further, I want to quick review a few terms 
that we use in Michigan to ensure we are all of the same 
understanding. I know different States use different terms for 
these roles. Election inspectors, as they're called in 
Michigan, are paid to administer the election in the precincts 
and in our absentee counting boards. They're required to be 
trained by our county and local clerks, and they're retrained 
every 2 years. Election workers or poll workers are often terms 
used interchangeably for that role.
    Poll watchers is a term literally for any member who wishes 
to come watch the process unfold. They have no official role, 
and they're designated to a confined area within the polling 
location. Media most often utilizes this space.
    Finally, there's poll challengers or, as termed in this 
hearing, election observers.
    I want to focus on poll challengers because it seems in 
recent years at least to have gained an unearned negative 
association that's largely a product of what could be 
considered election season hyperbole and not the result of 
widespread systemic nefarious acts on the part of the 
challengers themselves.
    Poll challenging is not new. It didn't come about in 2022, 
2002, or even 1992. Nor is it one that should cause concern for 
voters, candidates, election workers, or the media. In 
Michigan, a poll challenger is a registered voter, credentialed 
and trained so that they're familiar with and comply with 
Michigan election law, especially those that expressly prohibit 
the acts of voter intimidation. Both major parties are allowed 
to and do appoint poll challengers in every general election.
    Additionally, as clerk, I routinely approve poll challenger 
applications in my county for the NAACP, the ACLU, The Carter 
Center, Promote the Vote, and the Election Integrity Fund. I 
expect those organizations will act in good faith to properly 
train their challengers. Challengers in Michigan are allowed to 
sit behind the processing table. They may inspect but not touch 
any election material. They are not allowed to approach or 
question a voter, but they are allowed to alert an inspector of 
a challenge they wish to make to the voter's eligibility.
    A poll challenger has the right to challenge the conduct of 
the election inspectors themselves should they believe it's not 
being complied.
    While it may seem adversarial, situations are not handled 
that way by properly trained election workers and poll 
challengers. And most challenges are resolved within a matter 
of minutes without disruption to any voter or process.
    To wrap up, poll challengers play a vital role in our 
election process. When they're properly trained, poll 
challengers ensure accountability and are an important check 
and balance in our elections. Because I value transparency and 
promote it, I welcome and encourage the involvement and 
observation of every citizen in their election, whether they 
serve as an election inspector, a poll challenger, or just 
simply cast their vote. Transparency, education, and 
participation are the keys to building and maintaining public 
trust in elections.
    I thank this committee for the highlight of the important 
role they play and the right of the citizens to engage.
    I thank you, Mr. Chair, for the opportunity.
    [The prepared statement of Ms. Lyons follows:]
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    The Chairman. Thank you very much, Ms. Lyons, for your 
testimony.
    Mr. Hovland, you're now recognized for 5 minutes.

               STATEMENT OF HON. BENJAMIN HOVLAND

    Mr. Hovland. Good morning. I'd like to thank Chairwoman 
Lee, Ranking Member Sewell, and members of the subcommittee for 
the opportunity to testify before you today.
    I'd also like to thank Chairman Steil and Ranking Member 
Morelle of the full committee.
    I'm Ben Hovland, Vice Chair of the United States Election 
Assistance Commission, or EAC. The EAC is an independent 
bipartisan agency and is the only federal agency solely focused 
on election administration. Any discussion of the 2022 
elections should acknowledge the tremendous job that state and 
local election officials did to run the midterm elections 
smoothly while facing unprecedented challenges.
    Leading up to the 2022 election, there were widely reported 
concerns about the potential for violence on election day, 
which thankfully did not materialize. However, election 
officials still had to take necessary precautions to assure the 
public it was safe to vote. The effort required to conduct this 
election was substantial, and the officials who managed this 
task deserve our thanks and praise.
    Today's topic of election observer access raises important 
questions of how to balance transparency, security, integrity, 
and safety in the elections process. Transparency is key to 
building confidence and fostering trust in our election 
outcomes. Let me be clear: Election observers who are properly 
trained and abide by the rules in their jurisdictions are 
needed and encouraged in order to maintain transparency and 
accountability in our elections.
    While policies related to how to become an observer, when 
they are allowed to observe, and where they can be present vary 
from state to state, it's critical that election officials 
provide clear communication about the rules and 
responsibilities of observers and their jurisdictions. Access 
to information about observer policies, necessary training 
about elections procedures, and guidance about acceptable and 
prohibited conduct is crucial for a successful observation 
program.
    No matter who is observing an election, the role of a poll 
watcher is to observe and monitor the election without 
violating voter privacy or disrupting the election. As noted in 
reporting from last fall, there have been reports of observers 
disrupting or attempting to interfere in the elections process. 
That behavior should not be tolerated, and the rule of law must 
be followed. It is essential that observers conduct themselves 
in a professional manner and follow the rules so they do not 
interfere with the election.
    Too often we've seen individuals unfamiliar with the 
elections process mistake regular election activity for 
something nefarious. The EAC has created and updated a number 
of resources related to the topic of election observation, 
including our quick-start guide on poll watchers, a brief 
election observers overview document, and a communicating 
election and post-election processes tool kit that provides 
election officials with customizable signs, pocket guides, and 
handouts. These educational materials can help anyone observing 
the election have a better understanding of what is taking 
place.
    Election procedure, education efforts, along with proper 
training for election observers can go a long way toward 
increasing understanding of the many safeguards election 
officials have in place to ensure the accuracy and integrity of 
our elections. The public needs credible, accurate information 
that they can rely on. Efforts to increase awareness about 
everything from the most basic election information about where 
and how to vote to more complex issues, such as eligibility, 
are critical as we're seeing a number of Americans lose faith 
in the process and in our democracy.
    In the last several election cycles, there's been an 
unprecedented level of mis-and disinformation, particularly 
spread on social media, that has sown distrust and even 
motivated some Americans to threaten and harass the public 
servants that run our elections. My fellow Commissioners and I 
regularly meet with election officials across the country. 
Since the 2020 elections, we've heard many distressing stories 
about the threats and harassment election officials have faced 
simply for doing their jobs.
    While I wish there was a simple solution to the challenges 
we face, I do not know of one. What I do know is that the 
answer begins with fact-based conversations about how our 
elections are administered. Beyond that, it's going to take 
work and resources from the federal government as well as 
states and local jurisdictions. We must invest in our 
democracy, including voter education. We need to depoliticize 
election administration and recognize that election 
administration should not be about partisanship but rather good 
governance and customer service.
    We must put the voters first and respect the voice of the 
American people. That, we can all agree on. Thank you, again, 
for the opportunity to testify today, and I look forward to any 
questions you may have. Thank you.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Hovland follows:]
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    Chair Lee. [Presiding.] Thank you, Commissioner Hovland.
    I'll begin our questions today followed by the ranking 
member. We will then alternate between the parties.
    I will now recognize myself for the purpose of questioning 
our witnesses. Ms. Lyons, I'd like to start with you. In your 
assessment, why is it important for individuals to observe the 
election administration process?
    Ms. Lyons. Thank you for the question, Madam Chair. I 
really believe that elections are the bedrock of our Republic, 
and our Republic is reliant upon public trust in that process. 
Public trust in that process is reliant upon knowing the 
process and participating in it. So I think it's really 
important to be able to have transparency in our elections so 
that people can observe at every stage, not just the challenger 
stage but at every stage, so that that transparency breeds 
trust.
    Chair Lee. Can you describe for us the process for election 
observation and what--how that happens in your county, and 
whether election observers have to be credentialed?
    Ms. Lyons. I'm sorry. Could you repeat the question, Madam 
Chair?
    Chair Lee. Sure. Could you describe for us the process of 
election observation in your county? What stages of the process 
do election observers get to view, and are they credentialed?
    Ms. Lyons. Yes. Thank you for the question, Madam Chair. 
Political parties by right are able to appoint--appoint 
election poll challengers, and they are credentialed. All of 
the credentials must meet a certain template, which is outlined 
in the manual provided by the State. So every challenger is 
credentialed. They are required to present their credential but 
may not display it during the voting--the time in which 
citizens are voting. Other organizations who have an interest 
in election integrity or voters' rights, they also are 
permitted to credential challengers.
    Those individuals must apply at the country clerk level, 
and they have to do that within 20 to 30 days before the 
election. Within 2 days, the clerk must either accept or reject 
that application. So, once that is--once that is set, they will 
know who is credentialing challengers for each election. Every 
local clerk must--every county clerk must notify the local 
clerk of each organization or party that is credentialing 
challengers within that jurisdiction--within the jurisdiction, 
and then each local clerk is required to make sure all of our 
precincts and county boards are aware of who is able to present 
credentials and serve as poll challengers.
    They may observe any part of the process. They play a role. 
They stand behind the table to inspect or watch all of the 
election material, the voter applications. They may not 
approach a voter. They may not speak to a voter. They may not 
imply that they are able to assist a voter. Any conversation 
that happens, any verbal interaction that happens with a 
challenger is established with a challenger liaison, one of our 
election inspectors designated to converse with a challengers 
themselves.
    Chair Lee. Thank you.
    Mr. Cunnington, would you describe for us, please, how 
congressional observers are different from observers from 
political parties or representing a particular candidate?
    Mr. Cunnington. Thank you, Chair Lee.
    That is a really important question because it is quite a 
different distinction. As some of the witnesses have already 
noted here, a political party observer is typically operating 
under State law or local rules, as was just described by the 
county clerk. You know, the Congressional Observer Program is 
operating under a direct constitutional authorization. It is a 
vitally important role to build that independent record in the 
event of a contest. And so, you know, arguably there are 
aspects of things that we might need to be a little bit closer 
to, or you know, areas that we might want to view for different 
reasons that maybe the regular--depending on what the State 
laws in a given area are, they may prohibit regular political 
party observers from being able to see.
    In my experience, we never really had that much of an issue 
in the places that I was deployed to, but obviously we have 
been aware that there are concerns from State and local 
election administrators where these--the CHA observers are 
deployed, and that's where I think an additional citation in 
the Federal Code would be really helpful in order to be able to 
do additional educational outreach to the election 
administrator community.
    Chair Lee. Would you expand on that? In your testimony, you 
mentioned a citation of convenience. Would you tell us a little 
bit more about that, and what it is that you think would be 
helpful?
    Mr. Cunnington. Well, so, you know, obviously, state and 
local election administrators are, particularly during election 
season, always under the gun. They're always working really 
hard. You know, I worked 29 straight days in 2016 as a local 
election administrator, and I wasn't even the person that 
worked the most days in a row at our county board of election. 
And so, you know, when somebody shows up with a letter from the 
Committee on House Administration saying ``I'm an election 
observer here under this additional constitutional 
authorization, I have the ability to maybe do a little bit more 
than what your state or local laws or rules, you know, would 
normally allow,'' I can understand why those election 
administrators would be a little bit--want an additional 
information. Having something specifically in Federal Code to 
be able to point to ahead of time, you know Committee staff are 
always talking to Secretary of States, talking to local 
election administrators before election periods. Being able to 
really do some educational outreach around a specific piece of 
code I think would really make it less of a struggle during the 
actual election period in which congressional observers are 
deployed.
    Chair Lee. Thank you.
    Ms. Taylor, would you describe for us what you consider to 
be meaningful access to observe the elections process?
    Ms. Taylor. Yes. Meaningful access is actually decided by 
each different state as to what they think is proper access.
    What we think it should be is, have the ability to hear 
when a name is called, that they have the ability to see that 
only one ballot is being handed to the voter. When they--at 
each section, that they have the opportunity to see what is 
going on. No one wants to see anyone's private information. But 
we do want to make sure that the person who walks in the door 
is who they say they are, that they only have one ballot, and 
that they proceed with that ballot in an appropriate manner. 
This is very difficult to do when you have mail-in ballots.
    In the mail-in ballot arena, you want to make sure that the 
laws that govern that State's mail-in ballots are applied 
correctly. If there is supposed to be a witness signature, if 
there is supposed to be the last four digits of a social 
security number on the envelope, to make sure that those things 
are actually where they're supposed to be and to make sure 
that, when the ballots come out, that it is put into the proper 
place.
    Chair Lee. Thank you.
    A final question for Ms. Lyons: Do you leave that 
meaningful election observation builds voter confidence in 
election results?
    Ms. Lyons. 100 percent. I believe that any time a citizen 
can engage and participate in their election, it gives them 
more ownership in that election, and they can see for 
themselves: Again, don't just take my word for it, but come see 
for yourself.
    I really believe that that does a lot to breed voter 
confidence, as well as public trust.
    Chair Lee. Thank you.
    I now recognize Ranking Member Sewell for 5 minutes for the 
purpose of questioning our witnesses.
    Ms. Sewell. I want to thank all our witnesses for being 
here today. I only have 5 minutes, and so I may ask some yes-
or-no questions, and I simply ask that you do that for me.
    Mr. Findlay, were the 2020 and 2022 elections fair and 
secure, yes or no?
    Mr. Findlay. The 2022--I would say that the 2020 election--
--
    Ms. Sewell. Yes or no sir? I only have 5 minutes.
    Mr. Findlay. Yes.
    Ms. Sewell. Ms. Taylor, were the 2020 and the 2022 midterm 
elections fair and secure?
    Ms. Taylor. Yes.
    Ms. Sewell. Ms. Lyons, in your experience, administering 
elections in your jurisdiction in Michigan, were the 2020 and 
the 2022 elections fair and secure, yes or no?
    Ms. Lyons. In my experience, absolutely yes.
    Ms. Sewell. Commissioner Hovland, I wanted to ask a 
question regarding the Congressional Observers Program. I know 
that part of the job of the Election Assistance Commission is 
to educate voters as to what's going on, as well as inform 
elected officials and electioneers, people who are 
administering the elections, of the law. I--the congressional 
Observers Program, literally the authority comes from the 
Constitution.
    So do you educate voters and administrators of elections 
about the importance of that, or do you think that we need to 
have a statutory authority designated in order to continue to 
do it?
    Mr. Hovland. Thank you for the question. As you mentioned, 
we produce a lot of educational materials to support election 
officials at the Election Assistance Commission, as well as 
voters. You know, I leave the legislating up to you all. But, 
you know, as I listen to the testimony and thought about the 
issue of congressional observers, one thing that came to mind, 
it might be a great topic for an Election Assistance Commission 
video series that we could send out to one of our boards or all 
of our advisory boards. Again, our newest board, the Local 
Leadership Council, has leadership from every state in the 
country of the local professional association, and that would 
be a great opportunity to educate officials about the 
Congressional Observer Program specifically.
    Ms. Sewell. Very good.
    Election observation and poll monitoring are longstanding 
practices of the United States elections. Providing 
transparency at multiple stages of the election process helps 
increase public confidence and allows insight into what is 
otherwise a very technical process. And I think all of us will 
agree that it's an important way of getting better confidence 
in our election process.
    Commissioner, can you actually describe some of the 
measures you have seen states and local election jurisdictions 
take to gain greater transparency at various stages? Likewise, 
how have election officials balanced this need to keep their 
workers and the ballots and the voting equipment safe and 
secure?
    Mr. Hovland. Absolutely. You know, when you look at, you 
know, our election process, of course, transparency is at the 
heart of that. When I talk to election officials around the 
country, you know, they are interested in that. You know, many 
times they are begging the public to come out to things like 
logic and accuracy testing and to see that and understand the 
process.
    You know, again, I think so much of what we've seen in the 
mis-and disinformation space is around a lack of understanding. 
So, as I noted in my testimony, you know, when there are people 
engaged in the process lawfully, whether as poll watchers, as 
poll workers, you know, that is always welcome, and/or 
opportunities just for the public to engage and see the 
process.
    I think that key component there is that people are 
following the rules, following the law. You know, we've seen, 
again, obviously since 20----
    Ms. Sewell. I wanted to also ask Ms. Lyons to answer that 
same question.
    From your vantage point, how can we balance the need for 
public confidence and integrity of our elections and at the 
same time protect voter intimidation and, frankly, worker--poll 
worker intimidation? How do you think Michigan has been able to 
do that?
    Ms. Lyons. Thank you for that question. I really appreciate 
it.
    I think the key truly is training. In Kent County, we are 
responsible for training our election inspectors, and we spend 
a great amount of time making sure to train those individuals 
working our elections to be prepared to expect poll challengers 
and how to handle those instances so that nobody is caught off 
guard and nobody is surprised.
    On the flip side, I think it's really important to have 
quality training for our poll challengers so that they know 
full well what the election laws are and what their rights are 
and where their rights----
    Ms. Sewell. Thank you so much.
    Thank you, Madam Chair, for letting me extend a little 
time.
    Chair Lee. I now recognize Mr. Morelle for 5 minutes for 
the purpose of questioning our witnesses.
    Mr. Morelle. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    Thank you all for being here and for your work.
    About 2 weeks ago, this subcommittee met the witnesses. 
Among others were Kyle Ardoin, who is the Louisiana Secretary 
of State; and Chris Anderson, who is the Seminole County 
supervisor in Florida. Both testified under oath that they 
believe Joe Biden won the 2020 election.
    Let me ask each of you. Ms. Taylor, do you believe Joe 
Biden won the 2020 election?
    Ms. Taylor. Yes, sir.
    Mr. Morelle. Mr. Findlay, do you believe Joe Biden won the 
2020 election?
    Mr. Findlay. Yes. Joe Biden is the sitting President.
    Mr. Morelle. I'm sorry?
    Mr. Findlay. Yes.
    Mr. Morelle. Mr. Cunnington, do you believe Joe Biden won 
the 2020 election?
    Mr. Cunnington. Yes, I do.
    Mr. Morelle. Ms. Lyons, do you believe Joe Biden won the 
2020 election?
    Ms. Lyons. Yes.
    Mr. Morelle. Mr. Hovland, do you believe Joe Biden won the 
2020 election?
    Mr. Hovland. Yes.
    Mr. Morelle. Before I go on, one thing I do want to note, 
disclose publicly, I was a county chair for 9 years. I was the 
Monroe County Democratic Party chair and issued thousands of 
poll watcher certificates in New York.
    I'm not aware of people suggesting that we should not have 
poll watchers. I just vehemently would be opposed to that. I 
think poll watchers are an integral part of this process. 
Sometimes it's hard to find enough people to do it. I'm sure 
all of you appreciate that, but I think they are important. So 
I wanted the record to reflect that.
    I did have a couple of questions, though. Pardon me for 
jumping around, but in the 5 minutes, it's awfully hard to get 
all of this done.
    I do want to ask a question of you, Ms. Taylor. I note that 
you appeared on a podcast called ``Who's Counting.'' And you 
said, and I think this is a quote, you observed that the 
organization realized, after the Presidential election--well, 
that after 2020, there were a lot of very angry people who 
thought there was something fishy going on in that election and 
that you were not sure you disagreed with those folks.
    So what--I'm sort of curious. In the last year, what's 
changed your opinion about the 2020 election?
    Ms. Taylor. I'm not sure that I understand your question.
    Mr. Morelle. Well, I assume when you were relating to the 
2020 election, you said in the podcast that you were not sure 
you disagree with the folks who thought there was something 
fishy going on in that election, and it was on Cleta Mitchell's 
podcast, who I think was part of the effort by--was even on the 
phone call that is now under some review by the Georgia 
Secretary of State and the President to find 11,780 votes.
    Cleta Mitchell was involved in that phone call. She was on 
the podcast, and you responded that way. You just said under 
oath that you thought Joe Biden won.
    So, in the last year, since you appeared on that episode, 
I'm just curious as to what changed your opinion or what that 
you at the time thought was fishy and----
    Ms. Taylor. I have not changed my opinion. I do believe 
that President Biden is the President.
    Mr. Morelle. No, but that's not what you testified under 
oath. I asked you if you thought he won the election, not if 
he's the President.
    Ms. Taylor. Oh, okay.
    Yes, I do believe that he won the election.
    Mr. Morelle. Okay.
    Ms. Taylor. I don't think that I said that in the podcast 
that he didn't win the election.
    Mr. Morelle. No.
    Ms. Taylor. Were there people who were questioning after 
2020? I think we all heard it.
    Mr. Morelle. Well, and you said you were not sure you 
disagreed with those folks.
    Ms. Taylor. I don't--because I didn't know the answer.
    Mr. Morelle. That's what I'm saying. So you----
    Ms. Taylor. I have no idea of evidence of any fraud.
    Mr. Morelle. Okay. Very good.
    I wanted to ask you, Mr. Hovland, there has been a lot of 
concern about the potential of violence on election day, and I 
want to ask if you thought the current impact or the current 
environment is impacting election workers, both the ability to 
attract and retain workers who, obviously, are critical to 
being able to carry out elections?
    Mr. Hovland. Thank you for the question.
    You know, we are seeing significant turnover in the 
profession, both for election officials, and, you know, it has 
always been hard to get poll workers, but certainly there are 
some concerns.
    When I think--when you look at the environment that 
election officials are facing, really since 2016, we've seen an 
increase in the cyber threats, challenges with mis-and 
disinformation that's been compounded by physical threats and 
harassment. You know, we've more recently seen the 
weaponization of records requests.
    Election officials across the country are really inundated 
and need our support.
    Mr. Morelle. Very good.
    I do say, and I would say this to my colleagues as well as 
the witnesses, I appreciate the focus on restrictions on 
observers. I would hope this Committee would be equally 
concerned with restrictions on voters.
    Before I yield back, Madam Chair, I ask unanimous consent 
to enter into the record a staff memorandum which provides 
background on the Congressional Election Observation program 
and contested elections.
    Chair Lee. Without objection, it will be admitted into the 
record.
    [The information referred to follows:]
    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
    
    Mr. Morelle. Thank you.
    Chair Lee. I now recognize Mrs. Torres for 5 minutes for 
the purpose of questioning our witnesses.
    Mrs. Torres. Thank you, Chairwoman.
    Commissioner Hovland, it is my understanding that the 
Election Assistance Commission is involved in several convening 
organizations, state and local election officials, law 
enforcement personnel, nonprofits, and other government 
agencies that seek to protect election officials from attacks 
and intimidations.
    Can you tell us a little bit about how that's going and 
what have been some of the outcomes based on those meetings 
that you have been--participated in?
    Mr. Hovland. Yes.
    You know, the agency, the Election Assistance Commission, 
has certainly heard from a number of those people. I, 
individually, as part of the Committee for Safe and Secure 
Elections have also heard a number of those conversations.
    You know, and really, I mean, it is heartbreaking to hear 
the stories of people, publicly servants who run our elections, 
you know, doing their jobs and being scared for their own 
physical safety, for the safety of their families. You know, a 
lot of the work of, as I mentioned, the Committee for Safe and 
Secure Elections, that's a bipartisan group and----
    Mrs. Torres. I'm just interested in what has been the 
outcome of those briefings.
    Mr. Hovland. Well, those conversations really have been--
you know, so much of this conversation has been about that 
balance of transparency and security, and a lot of those 
conversations are recognizing that we want Americans to 
participate in the process----
    Mrs. Torres. Have there been any recommendations that have 
been made?
    Mr. Hovland. There have been a number of recommendations, 
including primarily helping law enforcement and election 
officials work together. I have those conversations ahead of 
time so that everybody involved knows where that line is 
between the First Amendment and crossing over the line.
    Mrs. Torres. As well as the roll that they play in ensuring 
that every voter has an opportunity to cast their ballot.
    You know, as a member of the Financial Services and General 
Government Appropriations Subcommittee, which has jurisdiction 
over the Election Assistance Commission, I look forward to 
working with all of my colleagues to ensure that we are 
supporting States and election officials at all levels.
    Ms. Lyons, thank you for being here, and thank you for your 
statement and your commitment to ensuring that, you know, you 
are providing the training and the leadership, you know, for 
all observers.
    I wonder if you can share with me as to how many hours 
these observers, you know, spend with you in their training and 
at what cost, financially what cost?
    Ms. Lyons. Thank you very much for that question.
    I think it's important to make a distinction that, in terms 
of training, the county clerk is responsible for training the 
election inspectors, those who work in our precincts and in our 
absentee counting boards, to administer the election.
    The responsible party for training poll challengers in 
Michigan lies upon the political parties and the organizations 
who have been approved to be----
    Mrs. Torres. Okay.
    Mr. Findlay, how much time and at what cost do you train, 
do you spend training folks?
    Mr. Findlay. We spend significant time training our poll 
watchers. We go through either an in-person or a Zoom training 
with everybody who is going to be a poll watcher.
    In addition to that----
    Mrs. Torres. Is that in the law, the election law? 
Primarily focused on training on election law?
    Mr. Findlay. Yes. So on election law and also election 
process.
    Mrs. Torres. Do you spend any time teaching common 
courtesy?
    Mr. Findlay. Absolutely. As part of the poll watching 
principles that I went through earlier, those are required to 
be part of every RNC training. So, not only do we hold a 
training where we go over those principles, we also distribute 
those, you know, just prior to election day so that people have 
a copy to take in there with them.
    We also have people on the ground on election day, kind of 
rovers, that might go from place to place to provide assistance 
to our poll watchers.
    Mrs. Torres. Thank you.
    If I may interrupt and ask, you know, is there any 
background done on any of these volunteers that you may know 
of?
    Commissioner, we'll start with you. As far as, you know, 
have they been charged with aggravated assault for violating 
any laws that would put potential volunteers and voters in 
danger?
    Mr. Hovland. You know, that's really something that's going 
to vary across the country and the organization----
    Mrs. Torres. Okay.
    Ms. Lyons.
    Ms. Lyons. Thank you for the question.
    To my knowledge, there is no requirement of background. 
They are just required to be registered voters.
    Mrs. Torres. Mr. Cunnington?
    Mr. Cunnington. I'm not familiar.
    Mrs. Torres. Mr. Findlay?
    Mr. Findlay. We do go through a vetting process to make 
sure that people are who they say they are.
    Mrs. Torres. Thank you.
    Mr. Findlay. We have----
    Mrs. Torres. I ran out of time. So I will yield back to the 
chair.
    Thank you so much to all of you.
    Chair Lee. Thank you, Mrs. Torres.
    Again, I would like to thank our witnesses for joining us 
today to participate in this important discussion about the 
roll that election observers play in our Nation's elections. 
Observers are critical to ensuring integrity and voter trust in 
our elections.
    We must work together to ensure that we have transparency 
into how elections are administered so that, in turn, all 
voters can have confidence in the outcomes.
    There is a saying among election officials: Elections are 
partisan; election administration is not. The observer program 
helps us ensure that election officials across our country are 
living up to this standard every day.
    I also look forward to continue training of congressional 
staff on how to be effective election observers and ensure 
those volunteers have necessary access in future elections.
    Members of the subcommittee may have some additional 
questions for our witnesses, and we ask that you please respond 
to those questions in writing.
    Without objection, each member will have 5 legislative days 
to insert additional material into the record or to revise or 
extend their remarks.
    If there is no further business, I thank the members for 
their participation.
    Without objection, the committee stands adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 11:44 a.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]
  

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