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



                2022 MIDTERMS LOOK BACK SERIES: SUCCESSES
                       IN THE 2022 MIDTERM ELECTIONS

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

                                HEARING

                               before the

                       SUBCOMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS

                                 of the

                   COMMITTEE ON HOUSE ADMINISTRATION

                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                    ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION

                               __________


                             MARCH 10, 2023

                               __________

      Printed for the use of the Committee on House Administration






                [GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]





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                 U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

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                   COMMITTEE ON HOUSE ADMINISTRATION

                    BRYAN STEIL, WISCONSIN, Chairman

BARRY LOUDERMILK, Georgia            JOSEPH MORELLE, New York,
H. 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

                              ----------                              
                                                                   Page

                           Opening Statements

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......................................................     4
The Honorable Joseph Morelle, Representative from the state of 
  New York.......................................................     5
The Honorable Mike Carey, Representative from the state of Ohio..     7
The Honorable Barry Loudermilk, Representative from the state of 
  Georgia........................................................    49
The Honorable Norma Torres, Representative from the state of 
  California.....................................................    53

                           Witness Statements

Kyle Ardoin......................................................    10
Chris Anderson...................................................    18
Frank LaRose.....................................................    22
Damon Hewitt.....................................................    27

                        Questions for the Record

Kyle Ardoin......................................................    56
Frank LaRose.....................................................    60
Damon Hewitt.....................................................    74

                       Submissions for the Record

Cathy Darling Allen..............................................    80
Report: The Elections Clause.....................................    83
University of Georgia Poll Finds 99% of Georgia Voters Reported 
  No Issue Casting Ballot........................................    92
Georgia Voters Set New Midterm Turnout Record; Day One Voting 
  Nears Presidential Level.......................................    94









 
              2022 MIDTERMS LOOK BACK SERIES: SUCCESSES
                     IN THE 2022 MIDTERM ELECTIONS

                              ----------                              


                         Friday, March 10, 2023

                 Subcommittee on Elections,
                 Committee on House Administration,
                                  House of Representatives,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:01 a.m., in 
room 1310, Longworth House Office Building, Hon. Laurel Lee 
[Chair of the subcommittee] presiding.
    Present: Representatives Lee, Steil, Carey, Loudermilk, 
Bice, D'Esposito, Morelle, Sewell, and Torres.
    Staff present: Tim Monahan, Staff Director; Caleb Hays, 
Subcommittee Staff Director, General Counsel, Deputy Staff 
Director, Acting Parliamentarian; William Neitzel, Deputy 
Director of Member Services; Hillary Lassiter, Chief Clerk; 
Cade Alcock, Assistant Clerk; Jamie Fleet, Minority Staff 
Director; Khalil Abboud, Minority Chief Counsel; Sarah Nasta, 
Minority Elections Counsel; Eddie Flaherty, Minority Chief 
Clerk; Andrew Garcia, Minority Staff 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.
    The meeting record will remain open for 5 legislative days. 
So members may submit any materials they wish to be included 
herein.
    Thank you, Ranking Member Sewell and members of the 
subcommittee, for joining us today.
    As the former Florida Secretary of State and Chief 
Elections Official, I am passionate about ensuring that every 
state administer safe and secure elections and that voters 
across America have confidence in our elections system.
    Each member of this subcommittee brings unique experience 
with elections, and I look forward to the work we can 
accomplish together.
    I believe both the Republicans and Democrats have a common 
goal of ensuring that every eligible American citizen has an 
opportunity to vote and for their ballot to be counted and to 
be secure.
    Each of our states share many of the same challenges, and 
we will work together to ensure we're addressing cyber and 
physical infrastructure, emergency management strategies, and 
that we provide insight to states across America about best 
practices and tried and true methods for conducting secure and 
accurate elections.
    Where we see states succeeding, we will shine a light on 
their important work. Where we see states falling short, we 
will work to bring transparency to their challenges and to 
serve as a resource to help improve their elections process.
    While we may not always agree about the best policies to 
implement or recommend to the states, I am confident in our 
ability to promote our shared interest and to always work 
professionally and efficiently together.
    The Constitution tells us that states, not the federal 
government, have primary authority and responsibility to set 
election laws and to administer federal elections. To that end, 
I am pleased to welcome today's witnesses from Ohio, Louisiana, 
and Florida, three states that are getting elections right and 
can share some of the policies and practices that have led to 
their success. It's important to hear from them about what 
their states are doing well.
    Now, as a member from Florida, I am the first to 
acknowledge that our state didn't always run smooth elections. 
Most people here will still be familiar with the infamous 
hanging chad election of 2000. But, over the last two decades, 
we've continued to identify areas for improvement and led the 
way to addressing those issues without top-down mandates from 
Washington, DC.
    Today, Florida has an effective and thorough elections 
code, procedures, and safeguards. I'm proud that Florida is now 
a national leader in election administration and is an example 
of how continual review and improvement can lead to sustained 
success in elections integrity and administration.
    Data show that after some states implement key election 
integrity measures, they experience increased voter turnout. 
That's why I think a great place to start this discussion is by 
reflecting on the 2022 midterms that just occurred where 
elections administration was performed at a very high level.
    I'd like to applaud the vast majority of states and 
localities for their work. We should celebrate those states, 
like those represented here today, that have continually found 
ways to improve their process and to build voter turnout and 
voter confidence.
    It's simple: When voters have confidence that their ballot 
will count, they are more likely to vote.
    In Georgia, following efforts to increase voter confidence 
through Senate Bill 202 after lessons learned in previous 
years, there was all-time record turnout for a midterm election 
with more votes cast than in any previous midterm.
    Despite enduring criticisms of election integrity measures 
and aspersions claiming that election turnout would be 
suppressed by reforms, Georgia had record-breaking midterm 
early voting turnout, record-breaking midterm absentee votes 
cast, and more election day cast in the 2022 runoff than on 
election day in the 2022 general election, the January 2021 
runoff, or on general election day in 2020.
    In Louisiana, their midterms featured several strong voter 
integrity measures like requiring photo identification to vote 
in person and the state offering to provide free voter ID for 
voters that did not have one, not to mention the state's 
efforts to conduct elections during hurricane season.
    Ohio just signed into law key election integrity measures, 
including requiring photo ID to vote both in person and by 
absentee mail ballot, and now they are working to improve 
transparency even more.
    These are all huge wins for voters, and these efforts 
should be celebrated.
    Over the past 20 years, we've seen distrust in our 
elections processes and outcomes on both sides of the aisle, 
and while this will always be a process with room for 
improvement, it's important that we take a moment to celebrate 
the successes many states have achieved over the past several 
years to build election integrity and promote voters' faith in 
elections and confidence in their outcomes while also working 
to promote voter turnout and engagement.
    We will work wherever possible to share accurate 
information with the public about elections and the integrity 
of our process, and as all our states learn how to better serve 
their voters through improvements and efforts in elections 
administration, this committee should promote information 
sharing between the states so they can learn from each other 
and implement best practices regarding elections without 
pushing a D.C.-based takeover or mandates.
    I look forward to hearing more from our witnesses about how 
states can continue to strengthen our nation's elections. 
Together, through collaboration and commitment to effective 
policies and voter education, we can strengthen our nation's 
elections infrastructure and work toward building confidence in 
the security of each state's elections, the strength of our 
infrastructure, and the integrity of our results.
    I now recognize Ranking Member Ms. Sewell for 5 minutes for 
the purpose of providing an opening statement.
    Ms. Sewell. Good morning.
    As the new ranking member of the Subcommittee on Elections, 
I would like to thank Chair Lee for welcoming all of us this 
morning, and I look forward to working with her and all of my 
fellow colleagues on this Subcommittee.
    Providing oversight over federal election administration 
and ensuring every American has free and equitable access to 
the ballot is vital to our democracy.
    I represent Alabama's Seventh Congressional District, a 
district with a long, storied history in this country's 
struggle for free and fair access to the ballot box. I get to 
represent every day the historic cities of Birmingham, 
Montgomery, and my hometown of Selma, Alabama.
    I am excited to join the subcommittee and continue this 
critical work.
    Last week, we marked the 58th anniversary of Bloody Sunday 
in my hometown of Selma with a visit from President Biden, a 
bipartisan delegation of Members of Congress, civil rights 
leaders, and many of the surviving foot soldiers of the march 
from Selma to Montgomery. This annual pilgrimage serves as a 
reminder that the violent struggle for voting rights and equal 
access to the ballot box is not one of a distant past.
    As we sit here today, discussing the 2022 midterm 
elections, we must not lose sight of the fact that the struggle 
for equal voting rights that occurred on the Edmund Pettus 
Bridge 58 years ago continues today.
    There are successes, to be sure, in the 2022 midterms. 
Millions of Americans cast their ballots. Those ballots were 
counted, and election workers across the nation performed 
admirably despite the threats and harassment that many faced 
over the last 2 years. The election was secure, as it was in 
2020.
    Those who continued to perpetuate the big lie that the last 
presidential election was stolen and who traffic in falsehoods 
about the security of our elections lost many of their races 
for critical statewide offices. Furthermore, according to the 
Brennan Center for Justice, in 2022, at least 12 states enacted 
laws that expanded access to the vote.
    On the opposite side of the spectrum, however, the Brennan 
Center found that another 12 states enacted restrictive or 
election interference legislation.
    We should applaud increases in voter turnout, not respond 
to them with new restrictions to voting.
    Additionally, while many minority communities overcome 
barriers to cast their ballot, it does not make their barriers 
fair, and it certainly does not justify or validate their 
existence.
    In the years since the Supreme Court's egregious decision 
in the Shelby v. Holder decision, states with a history of 
voter discrimination are no longer required to preclear their 
voting laws to ensure that they are not discriminatory, 
allowing a wave of anti-voter laws to be adopted across this 
nation.
    Today, the Supreme Court continues to dismantle the Voting 
Rights Act of 1965.
    I am proud to be the lead cosponsor or the lead sponsor and 
author of the John Robert Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, 
a bill that would update and reinstate the full force of the 
Voting Rights Act of 1965, a law that protected voters from 
discrimination for more than 50 years.
    Additionally, House Democrats have repeatedly passed pro-
democracy legislation that will protect voters' access to the 
ballot box.
    Generations of Americans fought for this sacred right to 
vote, many in my district, overcoming barriers and violence to 
move us forward in this fight for democracy. The people of 
Alabama and this country have marched, bled, been jailed, some 
even died for that sacred right to vote that all of us are 
entrusted to make sure occurs. The work, as we, as Members of 
Congress, and as members of this committee, will honor, that 
legacy.
    I look forward to the hearing today. I look forward to 
working with the chairwoman and the whole of this committee as 
we continue to lean forward in making sure that the equal right 
to vote and access to the ballot box for all Americans is 
given.
    Thank you. I yield back.
    Chair Lee. Thank you.
    I now recognize full Committee Chair Bryan Steil for the 
purpose of delivering opening remarks.
    The Chair. Thank you very much, Chair Lee.
    I just want to congratulate you on holding your first 
subcommittee hearing today. I can't think of anyone better to 
serve as chair of this subcommittee with your background in the 
state of Florida, an election system that is now really the 
gold standard for the United States.
    Ranking Member Sewell, I have an affinity for that 
position, as I sat as the ranking member in this committee last 
cycle. I'm sure there's a high bar, though. The minority last 
Congress had unanimous votes the entire duration of the 
Congress. Now, as some may know, that was easier said than done 
because I was the only member of the minority on this committee 
last Congress. I can tell you I never disagreed with myself.
    Mr. Butterfield and I did have a great relationship.
    I think we have an opportunity here to find some real 
common ground on areas where we can make it easy to vote and 
hard to cheat. There will also be some probably robust 
conversations where we will disagree, but this committee, in my 
opinion, is the oldest committee in Congress.
    We have our debates. I know my friend from Ways and Means 
may view it otherwise, but I do think it's this committee 
because this committee, the Committee on Elections, was created 
in 1789 as the first standing committee of the First Congress. 
I think that's pretty great because it shows you the 
significance and importance of the work that we do here.
    In a serious sense, I really do look forward to working 
with everyone to continue to identify ways to bolster 
confidence, promote faith in our elections, and strengthen 
election integrity.
    I think one of the things that we really see, as the data 
shows, is that, when we have strong elections, strong integrity 
in our elections, we actually see increased voter turnout. I 
think that's going to be something that we're going to hear 
time and time again throughout this Congress.
    When people know they can trust their ballot is going to be 
counted, they are going to be more likely to go and vote.
    Also, we know the Constitution demands that the role of the 
federal government is limited in this regard. It makes it clear 
that states have the primary role in administering elections, 
and we must uphold that federalist approach.
    Today, we'll hear from witnesses who help run state 
elections in Louisiana, Ohio, and Florida, and states that do 
things right. I hope to learn from their example and look 
forward to having House Administration, specifically this 
subcommittee, help facilitate those discussions.
    Thank you, Chair Lee. I yield back.
    Chair Lee. I now recognize full committee Ranking Member 
Mr. Morelle for the purpose of delivering opening remarks.
    Mr. Morelle. Good morning. Thank you so much, Chair Lee, 
not only for yielding time but for convening this important 
discussion.
    Unlike the standing Chair, Mr. Steil, I often disagree with 
myself. I would not be unanimous if I were the only member, but 
I'm grateful for the opportunity to be here.
    I want to also thank my dear friend and the Ranking Member, 
Terri Sewell. It's great to have you leading our efforts on 
this important subcommittee. So thank you.
    After the last 2 years' baseless claims of fraud and 
repeated attacks on our democracy, it is important to recognize 
the 2022 election was secure and applaud the country's election 
officials for their hard work.
    Elections and democracy do not function without them. For 
far too many and in far too many places, those election workers 
have faced a shameful amount of harassment and threats, 
something we should all be deeply concerned about.
    As we examine the 2022 election, it's also important to 
highlight that many states took steps forward to expand access 
to the ballot. I'm proud to say that, in my home state of New 
York, we've made significant strides in recent years to improve 
and expand access to the ballot for every voter, and there was 
zero evidence that the pro-voter policies put in place in my 
state have in any way compromised the security and integrity of 
those elections.
    Last Congress I was proud to cosponsor and vote for H.R. 1, 
the For the People Act, which would have set national standards 
for voter access and required a host of pro-voter, pro-
democracy reforms. That's what we should be all about, pro 
voter, pro-democracy reforms.
    I was also proud to co-sponsor and vote for H.R. 4, the 
John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which Ranking 
Member Sewell sponsored and her bill to reinstate the full 
force of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
    If we truly wish to be a great democracy, we can and must 
be committed to expanding access to the ballot for every single 
American.
    The Committee's role in conducting oversight of federal 
elections is critical. We must continue to fight to protect our 
elections, improve access to the ballot for every voter, and 
ensure states and localities have the funding and resources 
necessary to conduct elections freely, fairly, and securely to 
combat the continued spread of election-related mis- and dis-
information, and ensure the safety of election workers and 
voters.
    American democracy persevered in the 2022 election, but 
more progress is needed to protect our institutions from the 
next election denialism and attempts to invalidate lawfully 
cast votes.
    I look forward to today's hearing, and certainly look 
forward to hearing from our witnesses, the discussion that I'm 
sure will ensue, as well as the discussion in the months ahead. 
So I'm grateful for the opportunity to say a few words.
    With that, Madam Chair, I yield back.
    Chair Lee. 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.
    Chair Lee. If the witnesses would please rise to be sworn 
in.
    [Witnesses sworn.]
    Chair Lee. Let the record show that the witnesses answered 
in the affirmative.
    They may be seated.
    Our first witness, Secretary Kyle Ardoin, serves as 
Louisiana's 44th Secretary of State. Secretary Ardoin 
previously served as president of the National Association of 
Secretaries of State, currently serves on the Election 
Infrastructure Subsector Government Coordinating Council, and 
became a Certified Elections Registration Administrator in 
2021.
    He brings to the Secretary's office more than 30 years of 
experience working in both the private and public sectors.
    Our next witness, Mr. Chris Anderson, was appointed by 
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as the supervisor of elections in 
Seminole County in January 2019.
    In 2020, Mr. Anderson was elected to office as the first 
African-American constitutional officer in the history of 
Seminole County.
    Enlisting in the U.S. Army following 9/11 terrorist 
attacks, Mr. Anderson retired as a combat veteran of Operation 
Enduring Freedom and became a deputy sheriff.
    I now yield to my House Administration colleague, Mr. Carey 
of Ohio, for the purpose of introducing our next witness, Ohio 
Secretary of State, Mr. LaRose.
    Mr. Carey. Thank you, Madam Chair and Ranking Member. I 
appreciate the opportunity to be on the subcommittee today.
    I really want--I'm really just honored that I'm able to 
introduce my dear friend, the Ohio Secretary of State, Frank 
LaRose.
    Frank has dedicated his life to public service. After 
graduating from high school, he enlisted in the United States 
Army, and he became a decorated combat veteran. He is a U.S. 
Army Special Forces Green Beret and earned a bronze star for 
his service in Iraq.
    Before he was elected Secretary of State, Frank served in 
the Ohio Senate from 2011 and 2018. As somebody who often went 
into his office in the State Senate, I always found him to be 
very engaging and asking many, many questions.
    Frank has overseen many unprecedented challenges as 
Secretary of State of Ohio. The 2020 election took place during 
a global pandemic, and even so, it had the highest voter 
turnout in Ohio's history.
    Frank is a patriot, revered public servant, and he will be 
a great witness for us to learn more about what we can do to 
make our elections safe, secure, so that voters remain 
confident in the election system.
    Thank you. I yield back.
    Chair Lee. Thank you, Mr. Carey.
    Finally, we welcome Mr. Damon Hewitt, President and 
Executive Director of the Lawyers' Committee.
    Prior to joining the Lawyers' Committee, Mr. Hewitt served 
as inaugural executive director of the Executives' Alliance for 
Boys and Men of Color and as an attorney at the NAACP Legal 
Defense and Education Fund for over a decade.
    We appreciate each of our witnesses for being here today, 
your expertise, your experience, and your service in the realm 
of elections, and we 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 this 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 the members can hear you. 
When you begin to speak, the light in front of you will turn 
green. After 4 minutes, the light will turn yellow. When the 
red light comes on, your 5 minutes has expired, and we would 
ask that you please wrap up.
    I now recognize Secretary Ardoin for 5 minutes.

STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE KYLE ARDOIN, LOUISIANA SECRETARY OF 
                             STATE

    Mr. Ardoin. Chair Lee, Ranking Member Sewell, and 
distinguished members of this committee, good morning and thank 
you for having me here today.
    I'm especially pleased to be speaking before you today 
because Louisiana has unique experience in election preparation 
that lent itself to successful execution of our 2020, 2021, and 
2022 statewide elections.
    In 2020, not only did Louisiana face the challenges of 
COVID-19 pandemic, but we also had to contend with several 
hurricanes and tropical storms in a major election cycle, the 
last of which made landfall just 6 days before the presidential 
election.
    In 2021, we had to contend with another major storm, 
Hurricane Ida, which made landfall in southeast Louisiana 6 
weeks prior to a statewide election. The damage caused by Ida 
was so widespread and severe that we were forced to reschedule 
the election.
    Thankfully, we developed a contingency plan in 2020 called 
Operation Geaux Vote, which gave our office, election workers, 
and partners across the state the tools necessary to 
successfully implement these major elections. In fact, despite 
the storms and ongoing pandemic, over 70.1 percent of eligible 
voters in Louisiana participated in the presidential election.
    Since 2014, Louisiana has successfully carried out nine 
statewide elections in a row. This track record of success was, 
once again, on display in the 2022 congressional midterm 
elections where we were able to roll back our COVID 
restrictions and, thankfully, did not have to contend with any 
major storms.
    As usual, we finalized the tabulation of results in a 
matter of hours.
    Consistency is why the Louisiana legislative auditor 
released a 45-page report just last year which confirmed the 
effectiveness of our policies and procedures. The report stated 
overall--quote: Overall, we found the Department of State has 
procedures and practices to ensure election integrity, end 
quote.
    The policies they cite, in addition to my office's work 
with the legislature, have been vital in promoting integrity 
and efficiency in Louisiana's elections. We have worked to pass 
legislation that banned ballot harvesting, provides more 
accurate data from Louisiana Department of Health to conduct 
more accurate audits of our voter rolls, and strengthened the 
testing of our voting equipment.
    Further, I'm happy to say that Louisianans overwhelming are 
in favor of a constitutional--excuse me--voted in favor of a 
constitutional amendment in December of last year that 
prohibits noncitizens from registering or voting in any 
election in our state.
    Participation in our democracy is both a right of American 
citizens and a tremendous responsibility for those that 
exercise it. It is how we as Americans exercise political power 
over our government, our nation, and, ultimately, each other.
    As citizens, we rely on the assumption that those who have 
a say over how we govern ourselves are our fellow citizens. 
That is why the practice of noncitizen voting is particularly 
egregious. It is wrong in principle and in practice. It could 
open the door for foreign nationals with no loyalty to our 
communities and our country to exercise political power over 
our fellow citizens.
    These types of laws have the potential to irreparably 
weaken one of the strongest ties that binds us together as a 
nation. Even The Washington Post Editorial Board agrees.
    Our state utilizes a top-down approach to the 
administration, preparation, and execution of its elections, 
whereby our policies and procedures are set in the Secretary of 
State's office and flow downstream to the registrars of voters 
and the clerks of court in all 64 parishes.
    This gives Louisiana much-needed uniformity in our 
elections. Whether a voter is in St. Bernard parish, Beauregard 
parish, or Bossier parish, they will be voting on the same 
system, in the same manner, with the same procedures for 
tabulation and reporting.
    This top-down approach to elections is what allowed us to 
have over 1.4 million votes tabulated within 5 hours of poll 
closure on election night in 2022. It is this system that keeps 
Louisianans from having to wait 2 weeks to learn who their 
elected representatives are going to be.
    Despite the resources available to election officials, it 
took some states days and weeks to tabulate their results. 
This, in turn, has created space for some to question the 
integrity of their state's elections.
    As election officials, we have to get it right the very 
first time, every time. Any deviation from that standard risks 
losing the trust of the voters. That trust is the lifeblood of 
our democracy.
    The best way for officials to counter claims of fraud or 
interference is to leave no room for doubt. Zero room for doubt 
gives voters every reason to trust their elections and our 
democracy.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Ardoin follows:]

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    Chair Lee. Thank you, Secretary Ardoin.
    I now recognize Supervisor Anderson for 5 minutes.

   STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE CHRIS ANDERSON, SUPERVISOR OF 
              ELECTIONS, SEMINOLE COUNTY, FLORIDA

    Mr. Anderson. Good morning, Chair Lee. I'm sorry.
    Good morning, Chair Lee. To Ranking Member Sewell and to 
all the distinguished members of the committee, thank you for 
the opportunity to testify before you today.
    I'm Chris Anderson. I'm the Supervisor of Elections 
respecting Seminole County, Florida. On November 3, 2020, I was 
elected into office as the first African American to serve in 
this capacity. I also became the first African American to 
serve as the first constitutional officer in Seminole County.
    I'm proud to say that I stand on the shoulders of giants, 
like my grandmother, Ida Anderson. She was my mother. I was 
raised by a single father.
    My grandmother told me stories of how she had to clean old 
juke joints to make extra money. She told me she had to pick 
fruit just to put food on the table to feed five children. On 
cold winter days in north Florida, she had to dress especially 
warm because she wasn't allowed to ride in the front of the 
trucks. Because of the color of her skin, she had to ride in 
the back.
    It's because of struggles like hers and the struggles of so 
many others, I'm able to sit here today, and for that I am 
grateful.
    Now, I would be remiss if I didn't recognize my fellow 
current and former servicemen and--women. Let us not forget 
that many of them paid or made the ultimate sacrifice for the 
freedoms that we enjoy. In the words of President Reagan, when 
our fallen heroes die, they give up two lives: the lives that 
they were living and the lives that they could have lived. They 
give up their opportunity to be parents, to be grandparents, to 
grow old, and be revered.
    Although, we can never repay them, we can honor them with 
our service, and that is why I do everything in my power to 
make sure that every voter, every eligible voter has the 
opportunity to cast a ballot. I don't do that alone. I have to 
enlist almost 1,000 election professionals to accomplish that 
mission.
    These men and women are among the most dedicated and 
hardworking professionals I have ever served with. Their 
commitment to excellence is unparalleled. Their devotion to the 
voters is inspiring. Because I believe that inspiration leads 
to effective change, and effective change leads to success and, 
in this case, the success of the 2022 midterm elections.
    I've watched election professionals sacrifice the most 
precious moments a family can have in their service to 
America's democracy. Without these quiet keepers of our 
democracy, our government would fail. These individuals are 
beyond dedicated.
    To the election--to the executives in elections 
administration to the frontline election professionals, they 
make our government exist, exist the way it should be: of, by, 
and for the people.
    If it's not too much to ask, I'd ask that you all join me 
in a round of applause for these election professionals 
because, without them, there would be no success. Without them, 
there would be no gold standard.
    Thank you very much.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Anderson follows:]

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    Mr. LaRose. Well, thank you so much, Chair Lee----
    Chair Lee. I now recognize Secretary LaRose for 5 minutes.

  STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE FRANK LAROSE, OHIO SECRETARY OF 
                             STATE

    Mr. LaRose. I got ahead of you.
    Thank you so much, Chair Lee. Thank you so much, Ranking 
Member Sewell, as well as all of the members of the 
subcommittee.
    I want to thank Representative Carey for that generous 
introduction.
    My name is Frank LaRose. I'm proud to serve the people of 
Ohio as their 51st Ohio Secretary of State, and I'm happy to 
talk with you all today about the things that we're doing in 
the Buckeye state to keep the ball moving forward.
    Federal elections, of course, are the foundation of our 
democratic republic. They serve to document and to certify what 
Thomas Jefferson called the consent of the governed, that 
precious permission that the citizens give each and every one 
of us to serve them as public officeholders.
    Of course, access to and the integrity of our elections is 
vital to that representative government on which our states and 
nation have thrived. With integrity comes confidence in the 
system and a belief by the electorate that each election had a 
sure winner and a sure loser.
    Integrity and confidence. They go hand in hand, and yet our 
nation faces a crisis of confidence in our elections. 
Republicans and Democrats alike are losing faith in the 
electoral system. That hasn't always been the case, and it must 
end.
    You've all likely heard the phrase ``as goes Ohio, so goes 
the Nation.'' For decades, the Buckeye state has served as one 
of the nation's bellwethers when it comes to elections. With 
that moniker comes intensive scrutiny and attention, that 
spotlight that we've been under, the kind of scrutiny and 
attention that empowered Ohio to implement election protocols 
that have made our state a gold standard for conducting 
elections.
    Over the past two decades, Ohio has never rested on our 
laurels. The only way to stay ahead of the curve is with 
innovation, continuous improvement. With the crisis of 
confidence our nation now faces, immediate action is now 
required. Ohio is stepping up to the bat once again with two 
significant advancements designed to strengthen that public 
trust. I look forward to sharing those advancements with you 
today.
    First, a focus on strengthening election transparency 
through technology. More than 60 years ago, Congress enacted 
the Civil Rights Act of 1960 seeking, in part, to prevent acts 
of voter suppression and discrimination through the retention 
of paper election records.
    The idea was simple: to allow for the scrutiny of election-
related records so that the public could ensure that lawful 
votes weren't being altered or stolen. This requirement 
established a tradition of transparency that has served to 
protect the voting rights of all Americans for decades.
    The problem, however, lies in the fact that this 
legislation was written, of course, in an analogue era. It 
resulted in a patchwork of state and local practices that have 
not kept pace with modern technology or the expectations of the 
public.
    States have done little, if anything, to codify the 
retention of electronic election records. They lack consistent 
standards for defining important election data, and they have 
never set clear guidelines on how and for how long that 
electronic voter data should be stored or even whether or how 
it should be disclosed for analysis.
    A comparative analysis with colleagues in other states 
finds antiquated, inconsistent data retention practices that 
fall considerably short of the transparency we all expect, and 
in many cases, election officials update their records by 
simply saving over old data. What this does is it oftentimes 
cause confusion and lack of transparency.
    In other cases, efforts to clean the rolls may even result 
in making things more confusing.
    As the Secretary of State in one of the nation's biggest 
political battlegrounds, I'm leading an effort to change this. 
Working with our state legislature, we've introduced 
legislation that we call the DATA Act. It codifies key election 
definitions and retention requirements for voter registration 
and for the records of ballots cast.
    I'm asking my colleagues in other states to consider using 
this legislation as a framework for their own reforms, and 
together we can adopt uniform standards that will increase the 
trust that people have because of the transparency that we have 
in our elections.
    Second, an innovation that we've brought to Ohio recently 
is called the Public Integrity Division. A review of our 
office's capabilities demonstrated that there was room to 
strengthen the investigative functions far beyond what they 
were.
    For too long questions of election law violations or 
campaign finance violations were left up to election clerks, 
dedicated and purposeful individuals but people that were not 
trained as law enforcement professionals and didn't know how to 
conduct a professional investigation.
    Demonstrating integrity comes with the very direct and 
positive impact of increasing participation in our elections, 
and that's what our Public Integrity Division is all about, 
investigating those rare instances or voter fraud so that we 
can keep them rare and increase the trust that people have in 
our elections.
    In Ohio, where our efforts have maintained the confidence 
of voters, we're seeing great success both in turnout and in 
participation, and that's something that we're proud of in the 
Buckeye state.
    I look forward to your questions.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. LaRose follows:]

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    Chair Lee. I now recognize Mr. Hewitt for 5 minutes.

    STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE DAMON HEWITT, PRESIDENT AND 
          EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE LAWYERS' COMMITTEE

    Mr. Hewitt. Good morning, Chair Lee, Ranking Member Sewell, 
and members of the Subcommittee on Elections.
    My name is Damon Hewitt. I am President and Executive 
Director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
    I thank you for the chance to testify today about the 
successes and challenges of the 2022 midterm elections.
    Our organization litigates voting rights cases extensively. 
We also convened the nation's largest voter protection effort, 
the Election Protection Coalition, over 300 organizations 
nationwide.
    We also administer the 866-OUR-VOTE hotline where thousands 
of volunteer attorneys every year field calls for assistance 
from voters nationwide.
    Our litigation, our advocacy, our partnerships in the 
field, and our firsthand accounts from hundreds of thousands of 
voters from all across this nation tell a story, and they 
inform our testimony today. They tell a story of progress yet 
continued peril with respect to our elections infrastructure.
    Any notion of success of the 2022 midterm elections must be 
put into context in order to understand the fragility of our 
democratic system and the ongoing efforts to undermine it.
    Last weekend I was in Selma, Alabama, participating in the 
annual bridge-crossing jubilee honoring the sacrifice of those 
who were attacked on Bloody Sunday in 1965. I marched across 
the Edmund Pettus Bridge. I joined some of the original foot 
soldiers, and I also joined Ranking Member Sewell as well. We 
were marching for justice. We were marching for voting rights.
    Now, the eventually successful march in 1965, after Bloody 
Sunday, put a spotlight of moral clarity on the denial of the 
right to vote and helped to usher in the Voting Rights Act of 
1965, the most transformative piece of legislation this nation, 
perhaps, has ever seen.
    Nearly 60 years later, people from all walks of life 
continue to march across that bridge because they know, and 
they do not want America to forget, that the right to vote is 
still under attack today.
    The 2022 midterms made one thing crystal clear: The measure 
of success must not only be how many people were able to vote. 
Certainly, there were impressive numbers in many jurisdictions, 
but we must also do an analysis of which people were able to 
vote and the types of barriers they had to overcome in order to 
do so.
    Black voters and other voters of color continue to face 
unnecessary obstacles to casting a ballot. At the bridge 
crossing this year, we encountered so many amazing people, 
volunteers who saw burdensome laws that make it harder to 
register to vote, voters who encountered unnecessary hurdles 
themselves, and even election administrators who marched with 
us who have received threats simply for trying to do their job 
in good faith; those everyday heroes.
    The Lawyers' Committee stands with them as we all carry the 
burden of keeping our democracy running and we expend 
significant time, effort, and resources to do so.
    Last year, defenders of democracy were forced to jam our 
fingers into the door of democracy to keep that door open 
whereas so many state legislatures sought to slam that door 
shut. We've seen in the last couple of years laws at the state 
level that ban drop boxes, restrict early voting hours, shorten 
the number of days voters can request absentee ballots, 
threaten new criminal and financial penalties against those 
election administrator, those heroes. Counterintuitive.
    These were all efforts, we believe, designed to erect 
barriers to voting, not to make voting easier. In many cases, 
these laws were made possible and even popular by the Supreme 
Court's decision in Shelby County v. Holder in 2013, which 
essentially gutted the strongest provision of the Voting Rights 
Act, the preclearance provision.
    To overcome these barriers, so many thousands of advocates 
at the Lawyers' Committee and our allied organizations around 
the country had to scramble to provide accurate, nonpartisan, 
reliable information to voters regarding their ability and 
eligibility to cast a ballot.
    Election administrators had to develop new materials under 
serious time constraints because of these newly changed rules, 
and also we all had to battle rampant misinformation and 
disinformation from across the board.
    Just this week, the Lawyers' Committee won summary judgment 
in the lawsuit in federal court involving robocalls sent to 
Black voters targeting them, telling them that, if they vote by 
mail, that the information will be used to execute outstanding 
warrants, to track them down to collect outstanding debts, and 
also to force mandatory vaccinations.
    The same individuals who perpetrated this horror were also 
prosecuted in a couple of different states, but the problems 
have not abated. We have to continue to be vigilant.
    Another thing to note about the 2022 midterms is the 
widening gap in participation. This is one of the key 
indicators under the Voting Rights Act. We have seen gaps of 13 
percent in Georgia, 16 percent in North Carolina, and a 
whopping 35 percent in Ohio. This is not success. Democracy 
demands more. This is no time to claim mission accomplished. We 
have work to do.
    Thank you for your questions.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Hewitt follows:]

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    Chair Lee. Thank you.
    I'll begin our questions today, followed by the ranking 
member, and we will then alternate between the parties.
    I now recognize myself for the purpose of questioning our 
witnesses.
    Thank you, Secretary Ardoin and Secretary LaRose for 
joining us here today for our first Election Subcommittee 
hearing of the 118th Congress. It is always nice to hear from 
my former colleagues from NASS about their state's successes 
and best practices.
    Of course, Supervisor Anderson, it is a true pleasure to 
have part of our Florida team that is so very unified around 
the state with our shared goal of elections administration.
    I am just thrilled to have all of our witnesses here today.
    Secretary Ardoin, I'd like to start with you.
    One of the things that is a common challenge for elections 
officials around our country is the concept of emergency 
management and emergency preparedness. In your opening remarks, 
you made reference to something that in Louisiana you refer to 
as Operation Geaux Vote that is related to hurricane 
preparedness.
    Would you please share with us a little bit more about what 
that program is and how it works?
    Mr. Ardoin. Absolutely. I just want to say that we spell it 
G-e-a-u-x, like Geaux Tigers. We had a really good year this 
year in football. So I think that's what kept the hurricanes 
away from us this round.
    Chair Lee, what we did was, when we realized in 2020 we 
were going to have significant issues, I called upon our 
retired adjutant general of the National Guard who had just 
retired and asked him if he would assist us in preparing for 
the election, for the presidential, knowing we couldn't move 
the presidential election. We can't move any federal election.
    Luckily--he had been through Katrina and other national 
disasters--he immediately said yes. What we did was, under his 
leadership, we set up a task force within our agency, 
agencywide, both the elections division, the IT division, the 
procurement division, et cetera. We had a weekly meeting, and 
we set goals, and we set strategic operational needs, and then 
we worked on that.
    We were able to also work with our state partners and our 
federal partners. Unfortunately, after Hurricane Ida, we 
weren't able to work with our state partners, and our federal 
partners didn't come to any aid for us. We were on our own but 
it was that strategic move and that stability of having already 
operated it.
    I called upon my IT director, who had also just finished 
serving in Guantanamo Bay. He's an active Coast Guard 
reservist, and they were called onto it. I called him in. We 
still utilized General Curtis as a consultant.
    Once we had the initial task force set up, we knew what to 
do internally. It took us a lot more work after Ida, but that 
is, I think, a best practice that other states might want to 
look at because it was very strategic. We were able to get more 
resources, and the communication was the most important of what 
we needed, how we needed to get it, and all hands on deck.
    Chair Lee. Thank you.
    My next question is for Supervisor Anderson. One thing I 
know that was implemented in Florida was something called the 
Joint Election Security Initiative, which was really the first 
of its kind, a partnership where state and local election 
officials worked together, not just by sharing information and 
best practices but truly to integrate the cybersecurity risk 
assessments and review of our statewide infrastructure to 
strengthen the cybersecurity and physical posture of that 
infrastructure.
    Would you, please, share with us a little bit about how 
that program worked and your assessment of why it is 
significant?
    Mr. Anderson. Absolutely. Thank you for the question.
    It was a great partnership between the Florida Department 
of State that was led by then Secretary Laurel Lee, Madam 
Chair, and it was unprecedented because now all 67 counties 
were working with the Department of State in strengthening 
their cybersecurity infrastructure.
    We had cyber navigators from the Department of State come 
and meet with our IT professionals. They scanned our networks. 
They gave us best practices. I'm very happy to report that, in 
Seminole County, we passed with flying colors.
    We also established--the cyber navigators became--they had 
an area of assignment. Now you had someone that had an 
expertise in cybersecurity that you could reach out to within 
your area. This was especially important for those smaller 
counties in the state of Florida, those more rural counties, 
because, as they will tell you, they have more livestock than 
they do people, and their budgets are smaller.
    They are constrained by what they can purchase and things 
they can do. This was something that would not affect their 
budgets but was greatly needed to strengthen the cybersecurity 
of our elections.
    I was very proud to participate with the chair in JESI, as 
it's called, too, and it was unprecedented, and I'm very glad 
that we got a chance to do it.
    Chair Lee. Secretary Ardoin, back to you.
    This is something that I know you and Secretary LaRose, I 
believe, both share, but I believe Louisiana's program was one 
of the first of its kind related to an election integrity unit 
that was designed to actually identify where there did occur 
instances of fraud or potentially criminal conduct a response 
unit.
    Would you please tell us about that and how that works in 
your state?
    Mr. Ardoin. Yes, ma'am.
    I've been in the Secretary of State's office since 2010, 
and that program is prior to my even becoming, first, assistant 
or Secretary of State.
    We have four what we call--excuse me--six compliance 
officers. We have them stationed in different parts of the 
state, different regions, and they are called upon to 
investigate any allegations of election fraud.
    We also use them to enforce laws that are on the books, 
whether it's for access to the polls or preventing individuals 
who shouldn't be at the polls. For example, people who are 
campaigning for a candidate. They are very strategic.
    We don't interfere in the election. Our investigations are 
sealed until we make a report to the local district attorney, 
who is the enforcement officer in their districts for any 
election fraud issues. We investigate anything from a candidate 
or a group coercing voters to register in the wrong districts.
    We had a recent case of that where an individual pled out 
because he was moving people from outside of his district into 
his district simply by voter registrations.
    We also conduct investigations and cooperate with our 
federal partners. The FBI just made arrests of two individuals, 
a current officeholder and former officeholder, for vote 
buying.
    We will work with any law enforcement agency in order to 
make sure that our elections are fair and free of fraud.
    Chair Lee. Alright, thank you.
    I now recognize Ranking Member Sewell for 5 minutes for the 
purpose of questioning our witnesses.
    Ms. Sewell. Thank you.
    I join with Chair Lee in thanking our witnesses for your 
testimony.
    Mr. Ardoin, my question--I only have 5 minutes, so a simple 
yes or no answer.
    Were the 2020 and 2022 Midterm Elections in Louisiana fair 
and secure? Yes or no?
    Mr. Ardoin. Yes.
    Ms. Sewell. Mr. LaRose, were the 2020 and the 2022 
elections in Ohio fair and secure?
    Mr. LaRose. Yes, ma'am.
    Ms. Sewell. Likewise, Mr. Anderson, would you say that, in 
Florida, the 2020 and 2022 elections were fair and secure?
    Mr. Anderson. Absolutely.
    Ms. Sewell. Mr. Hewitt, my question to you is regarding 
federal oversight.
    Now, while it's true that our mandate comes from the 
Constitution, that the time, manner, and place of elections 
definitely is in the purview of the states, but it also, the 
Constitution says, but the Congress may at any time, by law, or 
alter such regulations.
    Since the Shelby v. Holder decision 10 years ago, would you 
say there have been more restrictive laws passed by states or 
less? Can you talk about that for a minute?
    Mr. Hewitt. Without question.
    I think, you know, we heard it in your opening statement, 
Ranking Member Sewell, the number of new legislations that 
we've seen all around the country, and even those that weren't 
adopted created a climate of fear, a chilling effect that we 
want to almost make voting harder for everyone. That's really 
what the tenor has been.
    I don't believe that's shared by election professionals, 
but that certainly is what's shared by the politics.
    You know, section 5 was the most powerful part of the 
Voting Rights Act. That was the prophylactic, right. That was 
the thing that stopped fires before they happened.
    Section 2 is kind of like your fire hose, right, and even 
that has been weakened. The Supreme Court is poking holes in it 
with decisions in cases like Brnovich, and now what's before 
the Supreme Court and threatens to cut the fire hose off 
altogether.
    You would be holding a hose with no water in it, and the 
fires will flame. Those fires are exactly what you're talking 
about, the legislation that is designed to make it more 
difficult to vote.
    Ms. Sewell. My next question: Could you elaborate further 
on why voter turnout alone is not a good indicator of whether 
or not voting laws are restrictive or discriminatory?
    Mr. Hewitt. Certainly.
    We have to go back to the Voting Rights Act at its 
inception and the formula, even, throughout the years as it was 
revised to take a critical look at not just how many people 
voted overall but what were their registration rates, what were 
their racial disparities, and also the disparities in 
participation.
    That's what I alluded to in my verbal testimony and also in 
my written testimony as well because we're looking at all of 
the chilling effects, the things that make it harder to vote, 
the things that may be legal but the things that may be legal 
under state law but that are designed to frustrate the intent 
of Congress and the Constitution.
    Ms. Sewell. How has the rise of election denial and the 
lies about election outcomes contributed to voter intimidation 
and some of the violence that we even see against poll workers?
    Mr. Hewitt. It's created extreme confusion, confusion for 
election administrators at the local level, perhaps at the 
state level, although my colleagues can answer that, and also 
for the people who tried to help voters in a nonpartisan and 
completely legal way.
    It creates a climate in which people don't know what the 
rules are because the rules keep changing, and they are going 
in the wrong direction.
    Ms. Sewell. Secretary Ardoin, is there rampant voter fraud 
in Louisiana? Yes or no?
    Mr. Ardoin. No.
    Ms. Sewell. Is it more the exception than the rule?
    Mr. Ardoin. I believe so.
    Ms. Sewell. What about you, Mr. LaRose? Is there rampant 
voter fraud in your state of Ohio?
    Mr. LaRose. Thankfully, no, and we work to keep it rare.
    Ms. Sewell. Likewise to you, Mr. Anderson.
    Mr. Anderson No, ma'am.
    Ms. Sewell. You know, in my last few minutes, I just want 
to say that we have an awesome task on this committee to make 
sure that federal elections are fair and secure. Right now, 
because the Supreme Court has struck down Holder--you know, 
section 5 and now looking at section 2 with an Alabama case, I 
think it's important to note that there is no federal oversight 
of states.
    While most states--I mean, I would say the majority of the 
states do not seek to provide more restrictive laws, but if the 
effect of it is to discriminate or to make it harder for 
certain people to vote, we as a body, Congress, need to step in 
and make sure that we give the proper oversight.
    I look forward to working with you, Chair Lee, in not only 
addressing violence at the polls, voter intimidation, but also, 
when states do enact egregious state laws that actually have 
the effect of limiting the people to vote, certain people to 
vote, that we will seek to try to figure out ways that we can 
have federal oversight to overturn those.
    Obviously, I think that my bill, the Voting Rights 
Advancement Act, named after John Lewis, is the right vehicle 
to do that. Clearly I'm willing to work in a bipartisan manner 
in which we can put back federal oversight.
    Thank you. I yield back the rest of my time.
    Chair Lee. Alright. Thank you, Ranking Member Sewell.
    I was just going to share with you a little bit of a 
logistic update. Apparently, votes have been called. So our 
committee, we're going to carry on for a few more minutes here 
with questions, and then we will have to take a recess and 
return after the members have an opportunity to vote.
    At this moment, I now recognize Mr. Loudermilk for 5 
minutes for the purpose of questioning our witnesses.
    Mr. Loudermilk. Well, thank you, Madam Chair, and 
congratulations on this position. It's well-deserved, and I'm 
looking forward to working with you throughout this Congress, 
as well as the members of the minority party.
    This is an extremely important role. Traditionally this 
committee has just been seen as the Administrative Committee, 
and the Parking Committee, but as you're seeing now, we're 
taking a more, I'll say, aggressive role or a role in taking 
our tasks very seriously. Not that it wasn't done in the past, 
but I think we're in a place now where it's very important that 
we do look at the role of government, federal government, state 
government, and especially integrity in our elections.
    Again, I agree with the things that's been said. According 
to the Constitution, the states take the predominant role. The 
federal government's role in that, time to time, is limited to 
who can vote more than how they vote, and so we leave that to 
the states.
    I think it's important we set the record straight, 
especially being from Georgia as to the 2022 election. 
Georgia's new election law was chief among I think some of the 
successes that we saw of post-2020 and going into the 2022 
elections, and these laws were passed over the past several 
years. As a former member of the legislature, I can attest that 
we have always taken election laws very seriously in Georgia.
    There is always going to be some level of fraud. We're 
never going to eliminate all of it, but we do have to make sure 
that our elections have the integrity and the people feel that 
their vote really matters.
    Unfortunately, there was a lot of falsehoods about 
Georgia's election law pushed by many, especially many in 
Washington, DC, claiming that it was going to create massive 
voter suppression, which even The Washington Post and other 
major media outlets identified that these claims were false, 
even before the election happened.
    So, first, let me ask Secretary LaRose, because I 
understand you may not be able to stay with us through the 
recess.
    In January of this year, Governor DeWine signed House Bill 
458 requiring in-person voters to present a photo 
identification instead of other forms of identification and 
absentee voters had to provide a copy of their photo ID, their 
Ohio driver's license or ID number or the last four digits of 
their Social Security number.
    This bill has also shortened the ballot receipt and ballot 
cure deadlines.
    After the successful run of 2022 midterm elections, can you 
explain how Ohio's existing election integrity laws and the 
addition of H.B. 458 will improve election administration?
    Mr. LaRose. Thank you so much, Mr. Loudermilk. I really 
appreciate the question.
    Ohio wants to continue to innovate and to lead. We have a 
heritage of doing that. One of the things that this bill does, 
of course, as you said, is require a mandatory photo ID. We 
also included in this bill a provision that allows any Ohioan 
that can't afford one to get an ID for free, or if you're part 
of a religious group that doesn't believe in being 
photographed, then you can sign an affidavit to state as much.
    Of course, we believe that this will increase participation 
because we think that Ohioans will trust their elections even 
more than they already have.
    Seventy-five percent of Ohioans in repeated polling have 
said that, of course, you should prove your identity with a 
photo ID when you come to vote, just like for so many other 
aspects of life.
    We're working right now to implement that bill, and it will 
be in place for the spring primary that's coming up here in 
just a month in the state of Ohio, despite the fact that 
activist groups from out of state are trying to sue us to block 
the implementation of that bill.
    Mr. Loudermilk. Thank you very much.
    Secretary Ardoin? Did I pronounce that properly?
    Mr. Ardoin. Ardoin.
    Mr. Loudermilk. Ardoin. Okay. My wife is from Louisiana. So 
I knew that there would be multiple ways that could be 
pronounced.
    Mr. Ardoin. You should hear my own people pronounce it.
    Mr. Loudermilk. I'm good friends with Jeff Landry. So I 
understand.
    Louisiana's election law features several strong voter 
integrity measures. Just like my home state of Georgia, 
Louisiana law requires voters to present photo identification. 
To vote in person prohibits ballot harvesting and doesn't allow 
same day voter registration.
    We're seeing that more people have confidence in the 
process in Georgia. How have these measures affected election 
administration in your state?
    Mr. Ardoin. We have not seen a negative impact. Of course, 
you know, Louisiana has had--required photo ID since 1997, and 
it was precleared by the Clinton administration's Department of 
Justice.
    Also, we accept any form of state ID or any form of ID that 
has a picture and a signature on it. So it's not limited just 
to a state ID. But we also provide free IDs for individuals who 
can't afford one.
    The ballot harvesting has only increased the confidence in 
our elections, and we passed it, and a Democratic Governor 
signed it into law, prior to the presidential election of 2020. 
We had a robust turnout of 70.1 percent in that particular 
election. We haven't seen any negative impacts.
    Mr. Loudermilk. Well, thank you for that.
    I will just say the feedback I hear from people in Georgia, 
from both parties, is it's Okay if my neighbor votes 
differently than me and cancels my vote, but it's not Okay if 
somebody who's not supposed to vote cancels my vote.
    I yield back.
    Chair Lee. Alright. At this time, the members of the 
committee need to head over to the floor to vote. We will then 
return and reconvene this hearing shortly. We will shoot for 
around 10:20 to be back in this chamber.
    The committee stands in recess, subject to the call of the 
Chair.
    [Recess.]
    Chair Lee. The Subcommittee on Elections will come to 
order.
    Welcome back, everyone.
    I now recognize Mr. Morelle for 5 minutes for the purpose 
of questioning our witnesses.
    Mr. Morelle. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    I thank the witnesses for being here and for testifying and 
for all of your good work.
    I do want to state my extreme disappointment that Mr. 
LaRose is not here. I'm not sure what the taxpayers of Ohio 
invested in his visit to Washington, but the fact that he 
couldn't stay for 90 minutes with us to comment on the sole 
topic on which I'm sure he was here in Washington is very, very 
disappointing, particularly since he has appeared on panels 
about ``They Stole it Legally.''
    I had a number of questions for him, not the least of which 
is that a disparity between Black and White voters in terms of 
turnout in Ohio being 35 percent is the problem that seems to 
me he ought to be working on the most. If he really truly 
believes what he said in his testimony relative to Thomas 
Jefferson's quote about consent of the governed, I think he 
should have taken a little more care in planning his schedule 
so he can be with us.
    I'd hate to think that his leaving early was an effort to 
avoid any questions about what's happening in Ohio.
    I want that in the record. I'm extremely disappointed and 
feel like it was an effort to evade questioning by this panel.
    I do want to thank the witnesses who managed to stay with 
us for this period of time and thank them for what they do.
    If I could just start--and I apologize if I do this wrong--
Secretary Ardoin?
    Mr. Ardoin. Very good.
    Mr. Morelle. I wonder if you could tell me, do you believe 
Joe Biden won the 2020 election?
    Mr. Ardoin. I do believe he won.
    Mr. Morelle. You do.
    Mr. Anderson, do you believe Joe Biden won the 2020 
election?
    Mr. Anderson. Yes.
    Mr. Morelle. Mr. Hewitt, do you believe Joe Biden won the 
2020 Presidential election?
    Mr. Hewitt. Wearing my nonpartisan hat, yes, I do.
    Mr. Morelle. Well, thank you.
    I do have a couple of questions just from the testimony.
    Secretary Ardoin, what happened prior to 2014 relative to 
statewide elections? I notice that your testimony said since 
2014 you successfully carried out nine statewide elections in a 
row.
    What happened prior to that? Why were they unsuccessful?
    Mr. Ardoin. They weren't unsuccessful. We just didn't have 
elections that were back to back to back. For whatever reason, 
we had special elections and issues that were put on the ballot 
by the legislature. So it was--we basically have four elections 
each year, and we usually had 1 year off, and we haven't had 
that since that time.
    Mr. Morelle. Oh, I see. What you meant to say--what you 
were talking about is the fact that you've had statewide 
elections in each of those 9 years?
    Mr. Ardoin. Correct.
    Mr. Morelle. Oh, I'm sorry. Okay.
    How do you define ballot harvesting?
    Mr. Ardoin. Ballot harvesting would be collecting of 
ballots by individuals that aren't in control of--that aren't 
the voter themselves. We--our law outlawed it for political 
candidates, political parties, nonprofits, 501(c)(3)'s, 
501(c)(4)'s, and political parties.
    Mr. Morelle. Are prohibited in Louisiana?
    Mr. Ardoin. Are prohibited, that's correct.
    Mr. Morelle. If you're a nursing home operator and a number 
of individuals filled out ballots and it was collected by the 
nursing home to be sent in or to be delivered to the Board of 
Elections, would that be considered ballot harvesting?
    Mr. Ardoin. That would be, yes, sir.
    Mr. Morelle. Interesting.
    I also want to ask, since you made a point--a significant 
point in your testimony, how many noncitizens were registered 
to vote prior to your constitutional amendment in Louisiana?
    Mr. Ardoin. I don't know how you track noncitizens because 
the federal government doesn't provide us any information with 
regards to that.
    Mr. Morelle. You have a constitutional amendment 
prohibiting noncitizens from registering. How do you--are you 
required to show proof of citizenship now to register to vote 
in Louisiana?
    Mr. Ardoin. Yes, sir.
    Mr. Morelle. You're required to show proof of citizenship?
    Mr. Ardoin. Yes, sir.
    Mr. Morelle. Are you purging noncitizens?
    Mr. Ardoin. Only when we get notice from the federal 
judiciary in our state or the local judiciary that someone 
filled out a card saying they couldn't serve because they were 
a noncitizen.
    Mr. Morelle. You don't--do you have an estimate of how many 
noncitizens will vote in Louisiana?
    Mr. Ardoin. I do not.
    Mr. Morelle. Okay.
    Mr. Ardoin. If I may, Congressman. The constitutional 
amendment prevents any local governing authority to allow 
noncitizens to vote in their elections. It was already in the 
Constitution that noncitizens couldn't vote.
    Mr. Morelle. In Louisiana?
    Mr. Ardoin. In Louisiana.
    Mr. Morelle. Gotcha.
    I had a question. You talked about--you said: Our state 
utilizes a top-down approach to the administration, 
preparation, and execution of elections.
    You talked a little bit about how much--how important that 
is.
    Do you think that's important for the federal government to 
take a top-down approach, or does that only apply to states?
    Mr. Ardoin. I think it should only applies to states.
    Mr. Morelle. What's the difference between the two 
governments that you think a top-down approach at state 
governments is superior than to a top-down approach from the 
federal government when it comes to federal elections?
    Mr. Ardoin. Because I think states should be sovereign with 
regards to elections.
    Mr. Morelle. I'm sorry. I only have 5 minutes. I appreciate 
your testimony, and I'll submit questions in writing.
    Thank you, Madam Chair. I yield back.
    Chair Lee. Thank you.
    Again, I would like to thank our witnesses for joining us 
here today and for sharing----
    Mr. Morelle. I think we have additional witnesses--or 
members.
    Chair Lee. My apologies. Mrs. Torres, I did not see you 
come in the room.
    I now recognize Mrs. Torres for 5 minutes for the purpose 
of questioning our witnesses.
    Mrs. Torres. Thank you.
    Mr. Hewitt, thank you for being here to discuss the 
successes and the challenges of the 2022 midterm election. I 
appreciate the work that you are doing to advocate for 
communities across our country.
    In your testimony you discuss how states across the country 
are enacting rules that prevent people who have the right to 
vote from voting and rules that lead to problems for election 
workers.
    In my opinion, you know, our ability to vote shouldn't 
depend on the type of job that you have, whether or not you 
have access to a vehicle to drive miles and miles to get, you 
know, to your polling place, access to childcare. You shouldn't 
have to drag your kids if you don't want to. When I was a 
child, I enjoyed going because they had a youth vote ballot 
where we can vote for--in presidential elections. That's not 
the case anymore, or the ability to stand in line for 12-plus 
hours.
    In that vein, what are some of--can you speak more about 
some of the challenges that you are seeing as states across the 
country begin to change some of their laws?
    Mr. Hewitt. Certainly. We're seeing basic election 
administration challenges, lines that are so long that people 
who have to go back to work or go to a second job or go pick up 
their children find themselves in this catch-22, whether--do I 
use and exercise my democratic rights, or do I take care of my 
children or make sure I have a roof over my head? That is an 
unfair choice.
    We're seeing--you know, I believe Secretary Ardoin 
testified--we testified together in the Senate last year: Oh, 
we're out of paper; can't vote today or can't vote--or can't 
get the backup today because you're out of paper.
    We're also, however, seeing these tricky requirements: 
Well, your signatures don't match or the signature you used on 
this ballot doesn't match the--absentee or mail ballot doesn't 
match what you had on your driver's license.
    Mrs. Torres. I have tendonitis. My signature never matches 
my previous signature.
    Mr. Hewitt. Right. Exactly, right. I wonder how doctors do 
it, then, with their handwriting. Right?
    Also this thing of: Well, you didn't write the date.
    Which date do you write? Do you write the date that you 
actually submit the date or the date that is your date of 
birth?
    These types of confusions are unnecessary, and it makes me 
think about poll taxes, literacy tests, allegedly facially 
neutral means but knowing full well that we're going to trick 
people into not being able to vote. It's almost like an 
entrapment of democracy.
    Mrs. Torres. So let's now talk about the workers. It used 
to be very pleasurable to go into polling place for me and see 
my neighbors working and volunteering there. They know who I 
am, not because I was a councilwoman, a mayor, or a state 
representative or now a Member of Congress. They know who I am 
because I shop at the same grocery stores. I, you know, go to 
the same fast food places, and my kids play with their 
grandchildren on the same team.
    When I have had to go to a different city to vote because 
last minute my polling place was closed, that has an impact on 
me, and it has an impact on the election workers also. 
Misinformation has had the biggest input--the biggest 
problems--has caused the biggest problems for our election 
workers, the threats that they are receiving as a result of 
that disinformation.
    Can you speak about the mass exodus that we are seeing of 
these types of workers that traditionally have been the 
friendliest faces that we have seen?
    Mr. Hewitt. You're so right, Congresswoman. I know in the 
community where I grew up, it was the people who lived there 
who administered elections at the very precinct level. We are 
losing too many good people. We're losing people who have 
institutional memory. We're losing people who have 
relationships and who have--who can convey trust, right, in the 
process.
    Mrs. Torres. Experience and the proper training?
    Mr. Hewitt. Right, or experience and proper--proper 
training is a challenge. You know, Secretary Ardoin talked 
about the voter ID requirement in Louisiana. The actual other 
part of that is that you don't have to have an ID to vote in 
Louisiana. You can submit a written affidavit in lieu of that 
ID. But do the people at the precincts know that because they 
are brand new and they have been told otherwise?
    Mrs. Torres. I'm going to interrupt you for a minute 
because I had a devastating fire in my home in 2005. I lost 
everything that I owned, including my wallet, which carried my 
license and everything. Try to get a duplicate of that ID in a 
quick turnaround time.
    Mr. Hewitt. Right. If I may----
    Mrs. Torres. I understand that I am over my time, but I 
yield back. I hope to continue to have this conversation with 
you.
    Chair Lee. Thank you.
    Again, I would like to thank our witnesses for joining us 
today and for sharing more about how their states are 
administering free, accurate, and fair elections and working to 
build voter confidence around our country.
    While there will always be areas for improvement, I would 
like to, once again, commend the majority of states and 
localities that ran smooth midterm elections and are working so 
hard to advance the causes of voter access and election 
integrity.
    I will note for the record that Secretary LaRose was able 
to stay longer, but due to our unanticipated recess to go and 
vote, he did leave; otherwise would have been here for 
Morelle's question period.
    When we identify areas for improvement, our states and 
localities and voters are leading the charge to make elections 
work better. As we've learned today, the states that have 
implicated--or implemented safeguards have been successful both 
in rebuilding trust in our elections process and in building 
increased voter turnout.
    I look forward to continuing the conversation with all of 
you and with election administrators and officials from other 
states around our country to work to keep information flowing 
between states without the need for the federal government to 
get in the way of effective elections administration.
    Ultimately, I hope more states will follow the lead of 
Florida, Ohio, Louisiana, those states that have set the 
standard even higher and higher and continue to review their 
own processes to identify ways we can make elections better and 
better: As we say, easy to vote, hard to cheat.
    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's no further business, I thank the members for 
their participation.
    Without objection, the committee stands adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 10:37 a.m., the committee was adjourned.]

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