Should Congress pass election security legislation?
Bill Summary
This bill provides financial support and enhanced infrastructure security to protect elections. Included in this bill are provisions requiring paper ballots and enhancing cyber security.
Sponsor: Rep. Zoe Lofgren (Democrat, California, District 19)
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Opponents say
• “There are a lot of things in our bill and in their bill that we can agree on, but then all of a sudden leadership from Speaker Pelosi’s office and the Democrat leadership team basically said stop negotiating with Republicans, and that is not what the American people want” - Rep. Rodney Davis (Republican, Illinois, District 13), on the partisan nature of the bill
• “I don’t think there is any likelihood that we are going to move a bill that federalizes more of the election process… Our focus will be on being sure that we are supporting the state and local governments that have run and will be the best people to run elections.” - Sen. Roy Blunt (Republican, Missouri), on the bill taking too much power from the states
• “We just had the 2018 midterm elections. Thanks to this administration’s leadership, all 50 states and more than 1,400 local election jurisdictions focused on election security like never before… Thanks to efforts across the federal government, in 2018, we were ready.” - Sen. Mitch McConnell (Republican, Kentucky), on why Congress does not need this bill
• “I don’t think there is any likelihood that we are going to move a bill that federalizes more of the election process… Our focus will be on being sure that we are supporting the state and local governments that have run and will be the best people to run elections.” - Sen. Roy Blunt (Republican, Missouri), on the bill taking too much power from the states
• “We just had the 2018 midterm elections. Thanks to this administration’s leadership, all 50 states and more than 1,400 local election jurisdictions focused on election security like never before… Thanks to efforts across the federal government, in 2018, we were ready.” - Sen. Mitch McConnell (Republican, Kentucky), on why Congress does not need this bill
Proponents say
• “It is indisputable that America’s election process was attacked by foreign actors in the 2016 Presidential election, and it will likely be attacked again in the next election in 2020. Protecting our democracy and the sanctity of our ballots should be paramount to Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle… The American people should have full faith and trust in our elections and Congress must do all we can to help states secure their election systems so that every vote is counted, and every voice is heard.” - Rep. G. K. Butterfield (Democrat, North Carolina, District 1)
• “While we have made modest progress to bolster our defenses, it is clear from the analysis of our intelligence community and a host of independent experts from across the political spectrum that more must be done… We must act now. This, we know, is not a partisan perspective.” - Rep. Zoe Lofgren (Democrat, California, District 19)
• “We have 8,000 different election jurisdictions, and the idea that all of them are going to have the resources, the knowledge, the skills, and the ability to independently safeguard our system against foreign powers is just not realistic.” - Lawrence Norden, Deputy Director of the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice
• “While we have made modest progress to bolster our defenses, it is clear from the analysis of our intelligence community and a host of independent experts from across the political spectrum that more must be done… We must act now. This, we know, is not a partisan perspective.” - Rep. Zoe Lofgren (Democrat, California, District 19)
• “We have 8,000 different election jurisdictions, and the idea that all of them are going to have the resources, the knowledge, the skills, and the ability to independently safeguard our system against foreign powers is just not realistic.” - Lawrence Norden, Deputy Director of the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice
- House Panel Advances Election Security Bill Requiring Paper Ballots (The Hill)
- How the U.S. is Trying to Improve Election Security Ahead of 2020 (PBS)
- New Election Security Bill Faces One-Man Roadblock: Mitch McConnell (New York Times)
- House Committee Marks Up Election Security Legislation (Politico)
