WASHINGTON — At a hearing Wednesday, Republicans on the House Administration Committee argued that legislation banning noncitizens from voting – which is already illegal – is needed to prepare for the November election.
But Democratic secretaries of state in swing states told committee members they were more concerned about the detailed threats they and their election officials faced because of false information about the election.
Three Democratic secretaries of state, Adrian Fontes of Arizona, Jocelyn Benson of Michigan and Maggie Toulouse Oliver of New Mexico, said noncitizens voting in federal elections would not be a problem, even as Republicans pushed for legislation banning the act.
“There is no evidence that non-citizens vote, and if they did, it would be easy to prove because the voting records are public. And while numerous organizations spend a lot of money trying to convince people that non-citizens vote, none of these groups have actually been able to provide evidence of this,” Benson said.
The Democratic secretaries of state added that they have faced threats since former President Donald Trump continued to spread the lie that he won the 2020 presidential election. They are concerned that the lie has led to a general distrust of the election results.
The insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, was an attempt by a mob of pro-Trump supporters to prevent Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election.
The three Republican secretaries of state, Frank LaRose of Ohio, Cord Byrd of Florida and Mac Warner of West Virginia, argued at the hearing that a federal law requiring proof of citizenship for registration is necessary to prevent noncitizens from voting and to secure elections. Research has shown that noncitizens who vote occurs rarely.
“The fact is that it’s rare, but we make sure it’s rare by enforcing the law,” LaRose said of such votes. “It’s my duty to enforce that. Unfortunately, that duty is not as easy to fulfill as it should be.”
Bill pulled from the ground
The Republicans in the House of Representatives are currently trying HR8281passed in July that requires proof of citizenship to register to vote, to a stopgap bill to fund the government. A vote was scheduled for Wednesday evening, but House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana drew the bill because he did not have enough votes to pass.
However, it is dead on arrival in the Senate and President Joe Biden has already announced a veto.
House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil (R-Wisconsin) said he is still working to get HR 8281 passed before the November election.
“As we approach the upcoming federal election, it is imperative that we take a close look at how each minister is implementing election laws at the federal and state levels to ensure that every legal vote counts,” Steil said in his opening remarks.
Several GOP-led states will have referendums in November to exclude non-citizens from voting, including IdahoIowa, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina And Wisconsin.
Immigration policy is also a central issue in Trump’s election campaign, as he falsely claimed that non-citizen voting cost him the majority of votes in 2016.
The committee’s top Democrat, Joe Morelle of New York, noted that voting has already begun, with ballots being mailed to military personnel overseas and states preparing for early voting in the coming weeks.
He expressed concerns about threats to election workers and misinformation about election security.
“Election officials are working through an election season that continues to be marred by a steady barrage of misinformation and disinformation,” he said in his opening remarks. “For months, we have heard the former president and others either refuse to say they will accept the election results or condition their acceptance on the condition that they be free and fair — undermining Americans’ confidence that our elections are, in fact, fair and secure.”
More consistent financing
Morelle said Congress needs to provide more support to election officials, such as providing ongoing funding for election security grants.
He said Congress has approved about $55 million in election grants to states and U.S. territories in fiscal year 2024.
Oliver and Benson said continued federal funding would also facilitate them combat election misinformation.
Benson said her state often has to scrape together the necessary funds, and a “predictable and sustainable funding stream” would facilitate, especially in dealing with threats of violence and intimidation.
She added that she knew all eyes would be on Michigan, a swing state, noting that her state was able to release results within 24 hours in the last presidential election. Michigan’s results in the 2020 presidential election were contested by Republicans.
“We will never sacrifice accuracy and security in the vote count for efficiency,” Benson said. “We understand the urgency of the movement and the fact that the eyes of the nation will often be on our state.”
Biden’s voter registration order
The Republicans in the committee criticized a three-year-old Executive Order by President Joe Biden, who directed federal authorities to facilitate register eligible voters.
“It is our duty to ensure that voter registration and voting are easy and straightforward for all eligible voters,” the executive order states.
Republican Rep. Greg Murphy of North Carolina opposed the initiative, arguing that it was partisan because it helped Democrats win the election.
“This is where the fear and anger come from,” he said, referring to Americans’ distrust of elections. “This is clearly for the Democrats.”
Oklahoma Republican Rep. Stephanie Bice agreed, saying that while voter registration is vital, it is not something the federal government or its agencies should be doing. She asked Republican secretaries of state if they had been contacted about the executive order.
LaRose said he sued the Biden administration over this, “and I think they know better than to ask me.”
Byrd said he had instructed Florida authorities not to get involved, and Warner said he had sent a letter to the White House urging them to repeal the order because he believes it is unconstitutional.
Threats against election workers
Democratic Representative Norma Torres from California expressed concern about the threats against election workers.
Oliver said misinformation about elections has led to voter distrust. She said the discussion about non-citizens voting is an example of that.
“When voters are misinformed, they lose faith in the system,” she said. “Non-citizens cannot systematically vote in New Mexico or across the country.”
Torres asked how such misinformation affects her work and that of election workers.
Benson, who was elected Michigan Secretary of State in 2018, said people have shown up at her home to threaten her.
“When I’m hanging Christmas decorations with my four-year-old son, people are standing at my door screaming into a megaphone, ‘You’re a murderer and you should be arrested and charged with treason,'” she said. “That’s the reality. Those are the people who are affected by this.”
Benson said lies and misinformation about the election results “make us afraid to go to work, afraid to go grocery shopping, afraid to take our kids to school, afraid to go to our backyard because we don’t know what might be lurking on the buses.”
“We have seen this not only in the last week, but in the last four years,” she said.
