The House Administration Committee held a hearing entitled, "Why the Wait? Unpacking California's Untimely Election Counting Process."
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00:00:00The title of today's hearing is, Why the Wait? Unpacking California's Untimely Election Process.
00:00:06I note that a quorum is present without objection. The chair may declare a recess at any time.
00:00:11Also, without objection, the hearing record will remain open for five legislative days,
00:00:15so members may submit any material they wish to be included therein.
00:00:19Thank you, Ranking Member Morelli, members of the committee, and our witnesses for participating in today's hearing.
00:00:25Today, the committee on House Administration will continue its oversight of federal election policies.
00:00:30The chairman of the committee, it's a top priority of mine to improve federal election law and increase transparency for American voters.
00:00:38During the 2024 election cycle, 155 million Americans across the country cast their ballot in the elections for president, senate, house of representatives,
00:00:47in state and local elections as well. Over 16 million of those votes were cast in the state of California.
00:00:53Most Americans watched election results being announced on election night.
00:00:59That wasn't the case in California. According to the Associated Press, it wasn't until December 4, nearly a month later,
00:01:07that all of the California races were ultimately called.
00:01:10The longer it takes to provide the results of an election, the more voters can lose trust and become frustrated with the process.
00:01:17Today, we'll examine the reasons for California's delay in reporting results.
00:01:22The major cause of the delay in California election results is the state's universal mail system,
00:01:29which is prone to delays, tabulation, and ultimately the calling of races.
00:01:33The ability to vote by mail in California has been available in the state since 1982,
00:01:38and state lawmakers have continuously expanded the bounds of mail-in voting ever since.
00:01:42In 2022, the California legislature codified pandemic-era procedural laws and enacted universal vote-by-mail for every election administered by the state.
00:01:53In other words, every registered voter in California gets a mail-in ballot.
00:01:58This not only opens the door for potential fraud, but it also causes delays on the counting side.
00:02:03Another issue we'll explore today includes accepting ballots after Election Day.
00:02:09Currently, California accepts ballots delivered up to seven days after Election Day.
00:02:15We'll discuss with our witnesses if that means it needs to be postmarked, what happens if it's not postmarked,
00:02:20what happens if it's dated, not dated by the candidate.
00:02:23But California accepts ballots collected up to seven days after Election Day.
00:02:28This matters because on Election Day, California doesn't know how many ballots will be cast,
00:02:34and so results for close elections can't be announced in a timely manner.
00:02:40Make no mistake, it's California's own state policies that are creating these significant delays in election reporting.
00:02:47While other states are taking steps to implement positive change,
00:02:51California has spent 50 years moving in the other direction.
00:02:54For example, in a state like Florida with a population of 23 million,
00:02:58Florida is able to report election results on election night.
00:03:02Following the 2000 election, of course, Florida took a serious look at its own election policies
00:03:07and passed a law to ensure ballots are actually counted on and by election night.
00:03:13California's system also doesn't really increase voter participation.
00:03:18Timely election results, I believe, builds voter confidence and can increase voter turnout.
00:03:23In Florida, voter turnout was 78.9 percent of registered voters, so a record high.
00:03:29California's participation in the 24 election was 71.4 percent of registered voters.
00:03:35Florida requires absentee ballots to be delivered to local election offices by the close of polls on Election Day.
00:03:44In Florida, absentee voters may cure ballot discrepancies within two days after the elections.
00:03:49In California, voters have up to 28 days to cure absentee ballots.
00:03:55Twenty-eight days.
00:03:56It's a long time, something we can be discussing with our witnesses as well.
00:04:01In November, three days after the election, I traveled to Los Angeles County's Central Count
00:04:07and got to witness the tabulating process in Los Angeles County firsthand.
00:04:13When I arrived three days after the election, L.A. Central Count still had 900,000 outstanding ballots that needed to be tabulated.
00:04:24And that's in L.A. County alone.
00:04:27That's not the state of California.
00:04:28900,000 total just in L.A. County.
00:04:32It was an amazing experience to walk through the L.A. Central Count.
00:04:36And I think we have an opportunity to talk with our witnesses about the reforms that could be made.
00:04:40This is uniquely important because the balance in the United States House of Representatives
00:04:43at that time still had not been determined in large part because the races in California weren't called
00:04:49due to the lax election laws that are resulting in these delays.
00:04:53The rest of the country shouldn't have to wait on California to know the results of the elections.
00:04:58We're looking at California particularly today because they have continued to move the goalposts in their election policies.
00:05:05California's election administration highlights why Congress must conduct oversight of states' federal elections
00:05:10and determine whether it might be necessary to enforce baseline standards on election integrity.
00:05:15So I thank our witnesses for being here today.
00:05:17We're going to have a great conversation about what's going right and what's going wrong in elections across the country,
00:05:21but in particular what's going wrong in the state of California.
00:05:25And I thank our witnesses for being here today and look forward to our discussion.
00:05:28I'll now recognize the ranking member, Mr. Morelli, for five minutes for the purposes of providing his opening statement.
00:05:36Good morning.
00:05:37Thank you, Chairman Stile, for calling us together, and certainly thank you to the witnesses for being here today.
00:05:45I appreciate any effort to improve electoral processes in California or, frankly, anywhere else in America.
00:05:52But I do want to be clear about one indisputable fact.
00:05:56There is no evidence that California's recent elections featured any irregularities or fraud.
00:06:04California's elections were legal and legitimate.
00:06:07How do we know?
00:06:08Because in November of 2024, Republicans deployed election observers to more than half a dozen congressional districts across California.
00:06:17These observers monitored ballot tabulation and processing operations in California.
00:06:23They reported no instances of illegality or any serious election-related irregularities.
00:06:30What they reported was California election officials following the law.
00:06:35And to be crystal clear, Republicans did not contest the outcome of a single congressional race in California under the Federal Contested Elections Act.
00:06:44To anyone watching this, please understand there is a longstanding mechanism for challenging congressional results that were improperly decided.
00:06:53And Republicans did not challenge any congressional results in California.
00:06:58There is no question.
00:07:00The ballots counted in California in the period after Election Day were legally cast by eligible American voters.
00:07:07That is undisputed.
00:07:09So, this hearing is not about making American elections more secure.
00:07:15We're holding the hearing because my colleagues simply disliked the way Californians voted.
00:07:21It's not the procedure Republicans actually have a problem with.
00:07:24It's the outcome.
00:07:25Now, there are always ways in every election in America that we could make them more efficient.
00:07:32And I'm sure there's probably room in California for improvement in their elections to speed up the process.
00:07:37So, standardizing notice deadlines and ballot cure review across California, these policies could probably streamline elections.
00:07:47We could be working in a bipartisan way to enhance election efficiency in California and elsewhere.
00:07:52Instead, we seek to make elections less efficient.
00:07:58They push, my colleagues, push policies that increase burdens on election administrators.
00:08:02Policies that take a sledgehammer to free, fair, and secure American elections.
00:08:07The SAVE Act, for example, which was passed over our objections a couple weeks ago, allows any person to sue any election official based solely on mere suspicion that a non-citizen is registered to vote.
00:08:19How quickly will any state process ballots of election officials are besieged by endless frivolous lawsuits?
00:08:26And the President's already deemed illegal anti-voting executive order could lead to the decertification of thousands of voting machines used across the United States.
00:08:35This deeply harmful executive order would cost states billions of dollars.
00:08:39It would fundamentally disrupt American elections.
00:08:42And both the SAVE Act and the executive order would eradicate voter registration by mail or online.
00:08:49This would wreak havoc on election administrations nationwide and disenfranchise millions of military and overseas voters who rely on mail and online voter registration to exercise their sacred, inalienable right to vote.
00:09:01Some proposed Republican policies would harm American elections so much, even prior Republican witnesses at this committee caution against them.
00:09:10We've heard Republican witnesses warn of the inefficiency of processing hand-marked, hand-counted ballots, which have been advocated by members of the House Republican Caucus.
00:09:21Forget about weeks to resolve elections.
00:09:23It would take months or years to have election results.
00:09:26Committee Democrats called a witness today to give voice to the military and overseas voters that would be harmed by Republican election policies.
00:09:34But the record should reflect that our colleagues blocked Democrats' initial witness choice,
00:09:39a military spouse stationed overseas named Sarah Strader from appearing today.
00:09:44Sarah wanted to speak to this committee about how we can better serve military and overseas voters.
00:09:50But because she is nearing the third trimester of her pregnancy, transatlantic travel presented a significant barrier for her attendance here.
00:09:58The majority denied our request for her to testify remotely, something we have the technology to facilitate.
00:10:03So, because Sarah is a pregnant military spouse with travel limitations, she was not allowed to testify.
00:10:10It is not lost on us that if the SAVE Act were law, Sarah would also be unable to register to vote today.
00:10:17Because it requires in-person voter registration, so women stationed overseas with pregnancy-related travel limitations would be barred from registering to vote.
00:10:25Today, the majority will attack completely legitimate elections in California.
00:10:30That's the idea here.
00:10:31Meanwhile, President Trump and Congressional Republicans advance policies to create massive barriers to military voting.
00:10:38We have not held a single hearing on military and overseas voting.
00:10:41And the Votes Act, championed by Congress members Frost and Lee, who's a member here of this committee, would increase military voter access, unlike the SAVE Act.
00:10:53Why are we discussing this today instead of that?
00:10:55We would happily waive this committee's notice requirements to call the Votes Act up right now to send it once again to the full House.
00:11:02So, to defend rather than undermine legitimate American elections.
00:11:06Instead of wasting time, can we support military and overseas voters?
00:11:09I would hope we would, and thank you.
00:11:11I yield back my time.
00:11:13The gentleman yields back.
00:11:14Without objection, all other members' opening statements will be made part of the record if they are submitted to the committee clerk by 5 p.m. today.
00:11:21Today, we have a one witness panel.
00:11:23First, we have Ms. Ashley Titus, who is a partner at Bell McAndrews in Hilltack.
00:11:29Next, we have Mr. Austin Gilbert, who is co-owner of Right Choice Strategies.
00:11:34After that, we have the Honorable Donald Palmer, chairman of the Election Assistance Commission.
00:11:39And finally, we have Rebecca Nowacek from the Secure Families Initiative.
00:11:45We appreciate all of you traveling to be with us here today and look forward to your testimony.
00:11:50Let me remind the witnesses, we've read your statements and they'll appear in full in the record.
00:11:55I'll now recognize Ms. Titus for five minutes.
00:11:59Thank you, chairman and members of the committee.
00:12:02I am an attorney in private practice in Sacramento.
00:12:05My first election as an attorney for a campaign was March 2004, and it took two weeks after that election for the nominee to be known.
00:12:12For well over 20 years, California's canvas has been slow.
00:12:16But now there are more close contests that take three to four weeks after the election to determine the winner.
00:12:22California's election laws impose numerous procedures that extend ballot processing and counting far beyond election night.
00:12:28Election administrators must contend with constantly changing rules and manage a larger volume of complicated mail and provisional ballots in a one-month period following each election.
00:12:38The original culprit behind California's lengthy canvas is no excuse access to mail ballots.
00:12:44In 1978, California became the first state to allow voters to apply to vote by mail on an election-by-election basis without a reason.
00:12:52Since the 2020 general election, every active voter receives a ballot in the mail without applying.
00:12:58In the most recent general election, nearly 81% of California's 22.5 million registered voters cast a mail ballot.
00:13:06Hand-delivered and drop-box ballots must be received by the close of polls on election day,
00:13:11but mail ballots are valid if they are received by an election official by the seventh day after the election.
00:13:17About half of mail ballots cast are dropped off by voters on election day and are not processed until days or weeks after election night.
00:13:26When a mail ballot is received by an election office, the laborious signature comparison process begins.
00:13:31Some counties in California use technology to conduct the first signature comparison, while others solely rely on election workers.
00:13:40Before a signature on an envelope is deemed not to compare to the voter's signature on file,
00:13:45three levels of review must find, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the signature on the mail ballot envelope possesses multiple significant and obvious differing characteristics
00:13:56when compared to all signatures in the voter's registration record.
00:14:00When a signature is challenged, the voter has an opportunity to provide a substitute signature.
00:14:05If a voter returns their mail ballot envelope without a signature, that voter also has an opportunity to provide a signature.
00:14:12In both cases, this process is known as signature curing.
00:14:15Depending on the county, a voter may submit a substitute signature as late as 28 days after election day.
00:14:21Many signature cures are returned as a result of the harvesting efforts of campaigns in close contests.
00:14:26Usually, county elections officials are permitted to certify their election results as soon as they have completed all of the required tasks.
00:14:33But a law temporarily in effect for the 2024 general election prohibited counties from certifying earlier than the 28th day after the election.
00:14:42The response of many county elections officials was to suspend canvas activities outside of normal working hours to avoid paying overtime to their canvas workers,
00:14:51thus further delaying the reporting results for the November 2024 general election.
00:14:56In addition to the nearly 60-day mail voting process that we have in California,
00:15:02California's same-day voter registration significantly contributes to the delay in finalizing election results.
00:15:08This is known as conditional voter registration, and California permits individuals who are not registered to vote by the 15th day before an election to complete a registration affidavit and cast a ballot.
00:15:19Conditional registrations are a type of provisional ballot, which take the most time and the most labor to process.
00:15:28It is the cumulative effect of all of these procedures and deadlines that cause the delay in finalizing California's election results.
00:15:36Of the weeks it takes to know the outcome of close contests, California's Secretary of State, Dr. Shirley Weber, said Californians should be patient.
00:15:43But not all of California's policymakers agree that we should just accept this.
00:15:47There are several proposals currently pending in the California legislature to address the lengthy canvas.
00:15:53One bill would require all counties to offer in-person voting on the Saturday prior to Election Day.
00:15:58But given that 78% of voters already have this option,
00:16:03and still over 80% of California's voters returned a mail ballot in the most recent election using an envelope,
00:16:09this is not likely to ease the post-election crunch.
00:16:13Several members of the California legislature have introduced bills this session to simply mandate speeding things up,
00:16:19but these proposals would impose an arbitrary deadline by which certain ballots must be counted,
00:16:23or that the canvas must be completed,
00:16:25without addressing the root causes of the current lengthy process,
00:16:29and without equipping elections officials with the means to process ballot envelopes faster.
00:16:34The solutions must focus on mail ballot and same-day voter registration procedures and deadlines.
00:16:40Otherwise, California will continue to be last in the nation to finalize its election results.
00:16:45That concludes my comments.
00:16:46Thank you very much.
00:16:48Mr. Gilbert, you're now recognized for five minutes.
00:16:52Good morning, and thank you, Chair and Committee members.
00:16:55My name is Austin Gilbert.
00:16:56I'm a campaign field operative and consultant,
00:16:58and I've run numerous campaigns over the last decade in the Central Valley and High Sierras in California.
00:17:03I've dealt with elections offices and officials during county procedures,
00:17:07ballot curing operations, and recounts across 13 different counties,
00:17:11and I've been a resident of Fresno County my entire life.
00:17:14California elections can be described in one word, slow.
00:17:18Over the last decade, California has prioritized voter access over efficiency, effectiveness, and safety,
00:17:24inundating elections officials with time-consuming verification and sorting processes,
00:17:28security flaws, and a reliance on mail for voting.
00:17:31With the passage of the Voters' Choice Act in 2016,
00:17:35California changed from traditional in-person voting to the new method of vote centers, drop boxes, and mail-in voting.
00:17:42This process was designed to be slow from the beginning.
00:17:45To start, state law mandates that any election official accept and count ballots postmarked on or before Election Day
00:17:50and received within seven days of the election.
00:17:53This immediately slows results from being disclosed to the public,
00:17:56as elections offices don't even receive an accurate count of the total votes cast until most of the nation has finished counting.
00:18:03The centralization of this election process, from precincts to vote centers and the elections office,
00:18:08has also complicated the ballot sorting process.
00:18:10Specifically, within Fresno County, we typically deal with upwards of three to five hundred different ballot types,
00:18:16that being any ballot with different contests included on it.
00:18:19While in years past, you would vote at a precinct of your neighbors,
00:18:22and there were very limited numbers of unique ballot types,
00:18:25now, vote centers are required to provide every single unique ballot,
00:18:30as any voter can vote at any vote center.
00:18:32You can imagine it's a lot easier to sort two to three different ballot types in one location
00:18:37than between five hundred and one centralized vote center.
00:18:40California also has an extremely arduous signature verification process,
00:18:44one that relies heavily on human interaction and the interpretation of handwriting.
00:18:48While most states verify identity before voters receive a ballot,
00:18:52California sends ballots out to every voter and verifies a signature after the fact.
00:18:57This process of signature verification usually works in three steps.
00:19:00Ballots are received in the elections office and scanned for a signature.
00:19:04The signature is compared to the voter's signature on file,
00:19:07and the ballot is either accepted and opened or denied.
00:19:10At this point of denial, a ballot cure form will then be sent to the voter,
00:19:13so they have a chance to correct their missing or non-matching signature.
00:19:17While in theory this sounds simple, in practice it becomes the most complicated process
00:19:20in administering an election.
00:19:22In the days following an election, you can often see thousands of ballots in one room
00:19:26at different stages of the verification process.
00:19:28This includes ballots that have yet to be verified,
00:19:32ballots that are waiting on cure forms,
00:19:34ballots that have been accepted and are being separated from the envelope,
00:19:37provisional ballots awaiting verification,
00:19:39and conditional voter registration forms.
00:19:41All of this before elections officials can even flatten,
00:19:45sort, and count to provide results to the public.
00:19:49There are also multiple deliveries of ballot types to the elections office on election night.
00:19:54This comes from ballot boxes across the county, vote centers, and United States Postal Service.
00:19:59All of these added steps and processes revolve around the signature verification process,
00:20:03which is largely done by temporary workers and election employees inside of a single county warehouse.
00:20:08It's important to compare this to the original process,
00:20:11where voters would sign next to their name in a precinct,
00:20:14it would be verified and that voter crossed off the list from their specific precinct,
00:20:18and then a ballot would be issued.
00:20:20Now, rather than just sorting ballots,
00:20:22the elections office is single-handedly tasked with the entirety of verification sorting and counting.
00:20:27California also does not maintain clean voter rolls.
00:20:31In many counties across the state,
00:20:32voters are tasked with updating their own elections office on changes to their registration,
00:20:37including if a relative dies or no longer lives in the state.
00:20:40In many instances, households would receive ballots for members of their family
00:20:44that were recently deceased or no longer lived there.
00:20:47While that is a massive security concern,
00:20:49it also adds to the extremely high cost of administering elections.
00:20:53In virtually every elections office,
00:20:55you can ask to see their undeliverable ballots,
00:20:57which usually surpass the thousands.
00:21:00These ballots are ones that USPS couldn't verify an address for
00:21:03or were returned to the elections office for any number of reasons.
00:21:06With the price of paper, printing, and postage,
00:21:10you can imagine this amounts to a massive cost.
00:21:13Complicated verification processes,
00:21:15ballots still being received up to a week after election night,
00:21:18the ability of voters to cure ballots 28 days after an election,
00:21:22and messy voter rolls have led to one of the slowest
00:21:24and most costly election processes in the nation.
00:21:27The prioritization of voter access has led to a lack of speed,
00:21:31security, and a diminishing trust in California elections over the last decade.
00:21:35Thank you very much.
00:21:37Mr. Donald Palmer, Chairman of the Election Assistance Commission,
00:21:41you're now recognized for five minutes.
00:21:44Chairman Stowell, Ranking Member Morelli, and members of the committee,
00:21:46I appreciate the opportunity to appear for you
00:21:49to address post-election procedures.
00:21:51At the EAC, we offer year-round help to election officials
00:21:54to improve the administration of elections.
00:21:56This ensures that eligible Americans can participate
00:21:59in a secure electoral process and have confidence in the final results.
00:22:03Prior to the 2024 election,
00:22:05I visited four of California's largest election offices
00:22:08to discuss their challenges,
00:22:10meet their senior staff,
00:22:11and thank them for their public service.
00:22:13It should be noted that American elections are highly decentralized
00:22:16with different states prioritizing different policies
00:22:19concerning ballot return, counting, and finalizing results.
00:22:22Today, I hope to provide insight into why it takes longer to count ballots in California
00:22:27than in many other states.
00:22:29In prior years, the California legislature has made several policy choices
00:22:33that have contributed to the extended curing and ballot counting timeline.
00:22:36I also note that California legislators have recently proposed several measures
00:22:40that would streamline the post-election process.
00:22:43As an all-ballot mail state, California gives voters 28 days after election day
00:22:48to cure signature discrepancies on mail ballots.
00:22:52In contrast, for example, Arizona gives voters five business days,
00:22:55and Colorado voters have eight days to cure mail-in ballots.
00:22:59In addition to the extended cure period, under California election law,
00:23:02ballots may be received up to seven days after the election.
00:23:05In contrast, 33 states require that mail ballots be received by Election Day.
00:23:10When provided the opportunity to drop a mail ballot off on Election Day,
00:23:15voters inevitably do so, thus pushing the necessary canvassing and verification
00:23:20of mail ballots deeper into the pre-certification period.
00:23:24With the omission or mismatch of signatures of mail-in ballots,
00:23:27the curing period also extends the time of the final tabulation of results.
00:23:32Individual state laws play a fundamental role in our elections.
00:23:36Some of the factors involved in a different pace in tabulating
00:23:39and final certified results include the extent and timing of absentee or mail ballots
00:23:45and early voting, pre-processing opportunities,
00:23:49and tabulation reporting requirements,
00:23:52resources and personnel available to election officials,
00:23:55deadlines to return absentee or mail-in ballots to voters,
00:23:57and curing or provisional ballot rules.
00:24:01So before joining the EAC,
00:24:02I've served as the Director of Elections in Florida from 2008 to 2011.
00:24:07In Florida, county supervisors of elections must finalize their results
00:24:11within 13 days following the election.
00:24:13During this time, election officials offer voters a curing process,
00:24:17which includes signature resolution
00:24:18and the opportunity to correct incomplete ballot certificates.
00:24:22The timeline in Florida offers a streamlined and efficient vote tabulation process
00:24:26that balances the need for accuracy and promptness.
00:24:29However, it took the state of Florida several years in election cycles of trial and error
00:24:33to find the correct procedures to maintain efficiency,
00:24:36report promptly, and increase voter confidence.
00:24:39As charged by the Health of America Vote Act of 2002,
00:24:43the EAC fulfills its role as a national clearinghouse
00:24:45for information on election administration in many ways.
00:24:48The EAC regularly provides detailed best practices,
00:24:52templates, and webinars related to mail ballots,
00:24:55the canvassing process, post-election activities, and ballot curing.
00:24:59The EAC has highlighted jurisdictions using new technology
00:25:02to allow voters to promptly cure ballots.
00:25:06These resources promote consistency and legal compliance,
00:25:09ensuring that every lawful vote is counted,
00:25:11and the electoral process is secure, reliable, and timely.
00:25:14In addition, the 2024 Election Administration Voting Survey, or EAS,
00:25:20will be delivered to Congress by June 30th.
00:25:23It contains questions on state ballot curing.
00:25:27This enhanced data collection will better enable the EAC
00:25:30to show ballot curing trends across the United States
00:25:33and provide baselines to inform future state laws
00:25:36and administrative improvements.
00:25:38I would also like to touch on the role of the United States Postal Service
00:25:41in ballot delivery and its failure to deliver timely ballots.
00:25:46The EAC will continue to work with the USPS and the states
00:25:50to build that relationship and to improve mail balloting across the country.
00:25:56Through adequate funding of the EAC,
00:25:59the Commission will continue to provide crucial support
00:26:01and policy recommendations to states and localities across the country.
00:26:05Thank you for your continued investment in the EAC
00:26:07and your unwavering commitment to election administrators,
00:26:10poll workers, and our nation's public servants.
00:26:13We look forward to collaborating closely with you
00:26:15on these and other essential matters.
00:26:17I would be pleased to address any questions you may have.
00:26:20Thank you very much, Chairman Palmer.
00:26:22Ms. Noachek, you are now recognized for five minutes.
00:26:26Hi. Good morning.
00:26:27Thank you for the invitation to speak today,
00:26:31specifically on this topic of election administration in California.
00:26:36My name is Rebecca Noachek.
00:26:38I am the Director of External Partnerships at Secure Families Initiative.
00:26:42We are a nonpartisan organization
00:26:43that strengthens the voices of diverse military families
00:26:46as an active and influential constituency on issues that impact our lives.
00:26:51We also lead the Military Vote Coalition,
00:26:54a nonpartisan coalition of over 20 military family
00:26:57and veteran support organizations united by our mission
00:27:00to protect the military community's access to the ballot box.
00:27:05SFI's military voter education programs have also been recognized nationally
00:27:09and highlighted as key information source for active duty families
00:27:14by the Department of Defense.
00:27:16I'm here today representing my community and SFI,
00:27:21but not to advocate for any partisan outcome,
00:27:24but to ensure that the community we represent is at the table
00:27:28where our access to the ballot box is being discussed.
00:27:31Personally, my firsthand knowledge, both as a military spouse
00:27:35and also as the daughter of a combat veteran, has led me to this work.
00:27:40Military families represent America.
00:27:44Military families come from rural areas, small and large towns, and cities.
00:27:48They include members from every ethnic group, religion, educational background,
00:27:52and sexual orientation.
00:27:54Nearly 50% of service members are black, indigenous, or a person of color.
00:28:00Over 50% are over, I'm sorry, over 50% are under 30 years old,
00:28:05and 92% of military spouses are women.
00:28:08The military community is a network of families stationed all over the world.
00:28:12Most active duty families move every two to three years.
00:28:14These moves can disrupt support networks, safety, children's education,
00:28:19and social lives, and limit career paths.
00:28:22These moves also impact our ability to vote.
00:28:26Routine mail delivery delays is a common challenge entirely out of our hands
00:28:30when stationed far away from home.
00:28:32For example, families stationed all the way in Japan
00:28:35have shared experiences of mail taking six to eight weeks,
00:28:38and there are other challenges that I've highlighted in my written testimony.
00:28:41So it should be no surprise that military voters are 27% less likely
00:28:47to have voted than their civilian counterparts.
00:28:50When a military voter tries to vote but is unsuccessful,
00:28:53the most common reason is because their ballot arrives past the deadline.
00:28:57The second most common reason comes when a military voter's ballot gets rejected
00:29:01for something like a missing signature or a date,
00:29:03and the voter isn't notified or provided the opportunity to cure the ballot by the deadline.
00:29:08That's why we have long advocated for policies that would tackle these top issues facing our community.
00:29:15Best practices include, number one, enable ballots that are postmarked by Election Day
00:29:20to arrive at least seven days after Election Day to still be counted,
00:29:24and two, ensure timely ballot rejection notification
00:29:27and robust ballot carrying processes and opportunities for our voters.
00:29:31Both these policies are true for California,
00:29:34home to the largest number of active-duty members in the United States
00:29:37and also one of the largest uniform in overseas citizens, or UACAVA, voting populations.
00:29:43These policies may lead to longer wait times, true, for election results,
00:29:47but more importantly, they go a long way to protect military voters
00:29:51who should have the same opportunity as our civilian counterparts
00:29:54to be maximally deliberative about our choices at the ballot box.
00:29:59There are two proposed federal policy changes currently in motion.
00:30:02One, the SAVE Act, which this chamber advanced earlier this month,
00:30:06and the March 25th executive order regarding voter registration requirements.
00:30:11Both take American elections in the opposite direction,
00:30:15where military voters need them to go.
00:30:16For instance, one of the barriers of the SAVE Act may impose would require voters
00:30:22to bring passports or birth certificates in person to their election office when they register.
00:30:27This means military families would no longer be able to register from that faraway duty station,
00:30:32and if a person has changed their last name since birth, for example,
00:30:36if you're like me and changed my last name when I married my husband,
00:30:41using a birth certificate might not be sufficient documentation on itself.
00:30:45If implemented, the March 25th executive order would also undermine the ability for military families
00:30:51to access the ballot box.
00:30:53The order would mean that the military families stationed halfway across the world from home,
00:30:57who crossed every T, who dotted every I when casting their ballot,
00:31:01their military ID would no longer suffice,
00:31:03and mail delays outside of their control could mean their ballot could never count.
00:31:07So in closing, I'd like to remind the committee that voting carries a profound, profound gravity for us.
00:31:13The right to vote is a cornerstone of the democracy that we as military families have committed to protect.
00:31:19I urge this committee, as well as every other body in Congress,
00:31:23don't abandon us, don't abandon military families.
00:31:27Thank you very much.
00:31:29I'll now recognize myself for five minutes for the purpose of asking questions.
00:31:33Out of the gates, without objection,
00:31:34I'd like to insert the written testimony of Cole Peterson,
00:31:39the data director for the California Republican Party, without objection.
00:31:44Ms. Titus, I want to start with you.
00:31:45In particular, kind of dialoguing the seven days the ballots can be received by California after Election Day.
00:31:54You would think they would have to be postmarked, right?
00:31:56I mean, the idea is that it's in the USPS system.
00:32:00What's the check on that in California?
00:32:02Do they review for postmarked?
00:32:03What happens if it's not postmarked?
00:32:06Could you provide some color to that?
00:32:07They do, in fact, review for postmarks,
00:32:09and they do reject mail ballots that either don't have a postmark or don't have a date.
00:32:14California doesn't require that the voter date their ballot when they sign it,
00:32:18but there is a space to do so.
00:32:21And if they are dated on or before Election Day but lack a postmark, then those would be counted.
00:32:26So let's just dialogue this all the way through,
00:32:28because when I was at LA Central Count, I found this really interesting,
00:32:32because I watched ballots arrive by mail into the system three days after,
00:32:36as I noted, about 900,000 total ballots were somewhere in the process of being counted,
00:32:43of being validated, observed.
00:32:45The signature verification, we'll come to that second.
00:32:47But is your testimony that if USPS doesn't date the envelope and an individual then opens the ballot,
00:32:57the voter's not required to date the ballot in California under California law,
00:33:02but if they do date the ballot and they date it by Election Day, it would still count?
00:33:08Is that accurate?
00:33:09Yes.
00:33:10So the real check isn't that it was in.
00:33:12It's a trust system that the individual who dated the ballot dated it on the correct day, right?
00:33:18Correct.
00:33:18And so if somebody dated it by Election Day, USPS didn't stamp that with a postal date stamp, it would count?
00:33:28Yes.
00:33:28And that USPS doesn't date 100% of their mail.
00:33:32Correct.
00:33:33Yes.
00:33:33It sounds like a problem.
00:33:34And the way to fix this, of course, would just be to require that it's collected and in by Election Day.
00:33:39I went to high school, I think a lot of us did, and when a paper was due, when did we write the paper?
00:33:46When it was due.
00:33:48And so if you just say it has to be in by Election Day, it shifts that.
00:33:51And Chairman Palmer, you noted 33 states require that ballots be in by Election Day.
00:33:58I'm assuming that means 17 plus maybe the District of Columbia allow them to come in after Election Day.
00:34:04Is that accurate?
00:34:07Yes, Mr. Chair.
00:34:08And is there a significant correlation with voter participation if it needs to be in by Election Day or after Election Day?
00:34:16I don't think it's directly, there's a direct correlation.
00:34:19Right.
00:34:19It's just people are going to do it by the deadline, right?
00:34:22So if you say you've got to have it postmark, you've got to have it in by Election Day, you get a ton of people that drop it in the box by Election Day.
00:34:28If you say it's got to be received by Election Day, a lot of people drop it in sufficiently in advance or drop it in in person.
00:34:34So that at least the physical ballots are all in by a specific deadline, right?
00:34:40I agree, sir.
00:34:41And so if I'll come back to you, Ms. Titus.
00:34:43So California runs a system also where every registered voter receives a ballot, regardless of whether or not they request it.
00:34:52It's automatically sent.
00:34:53Is that accurate?
00:34:54Yes.
00:34:55And so when that goes out, obviously not 100% of the people that receive a ballot participate in the election, but a large percentage, I think it was about 70 or so percent in the state of California.
00:35:05But for the purpose of calling election, not only do you need to know the numerator, how many ballots come in, and they can come in up to seven days after the election.
00:35:15But you also need to know the denominator, which is how many total people are voting when you're, I apologize, the denominator in the context of what percent you would need to be able to win an election.
00:35:25So for seven days, everybody in California is reasonably blind as the total number of ballots cast in an election.
00:35:32Is that accurate?
00:35:32Yes.
00:35:33And that makes it really hard to call a race, to know who won an election, right?
00:35:38Yes.
00:35:38And so that challenge, I think, is a real and substantive challenge.
00:35:43I want to end with the signature comparison.
00:35:48When I walked through LA Central Count, it was burned into my mind watching this woman do the signature verification.
00:35:56What standard or what training are the workers given who are engaged in the signature verification in California?
00:36:03There is no standardized training.
00:36:05So there's no training?
00:36:06There's no standardized training.
00:36:07Okay.
00:36:07Some counties have more rigorous training.
00:36:10Some counties have very little.
00:36:12What I've also seen is the comparison process is often occurring on a computer screen, and they may be comparing four different voter ballots at the same time.
00:36:21So they will have the scans of the outside of the envelope.
00:36:24And the standard with which, so the training varies.
00:36:27Training varies.
00:36:27The woman that I met said she had almost no training.
00:36:30And there's about 17 criteria that are supposed to apply.
00:36:34And the standard that they have to meet is beyond a reasonable doubt?
00:36:37Correct.
00:36:37It's a pretty high standard.
00:36:38Yes.
00:36:39Especially in a situation where these live ballots are mailed to every registered voter.
00:36:43I think we've identified some of the challenges we see in California.
00:36:46Appreciate our witnesses here.
00:36:48Cognizant of the time.
00:36:49I'll now recognize the ranking member for five minutes for questions.
00:36:52Thank you, Mr. Chair, I'd just like to ask the witnesses, can you raise your hand if you have information or knowledge that demonstrates that California election officials wrongly certified a winner in this year's California congressional elections?
00:37:08Okay, the record should reflect that none of the witnesses raised their hand.
00:37:14I do want to ask, Ms. Nowacek, I'm sorry if I'm probably killing your last name, I apologize.
00:37:24If it were easy like Morelli, I would get it.
00:37:26But your testimony discusses how vitally important it is to our democracy, the right to vote for, particularly for military and overseas voters.
00:37:38To your knowledge, the voter access and election administration policies in place in states like California, and I will say in my state of New York, which also allows ballots postmarked to be counted up to a week after Election Day.
00:37:51Do these policies enhance the ability of military and overseas voters to cast a free, fair, and secure ballot?
00:37:58Yes, so our position is we need to take into account the experiences that our families are experiencing.
00:38:05And for those stationed overseas or even in the continental United States, when trying to access the polls, we will experience mail delays.
00:38:15And so any policy that takes that into account, like the state of California, being able to count ballots seven days after the election, makes it easier for our community to participate.
00:38:27Absolutely.
00:38:28You mentioned in your testimony, and I don't know this, I didn't have this experience, but I think you indicated the number of days typically that mail delays can occur.
00:38:41Let me just, I thought there was a number in here, but can you just tell me a little bit, you've had this experience of the amount of time that it takes just for U.S. mail to get back and forth from wherever you happen to be.
00:38:54Obviously, it depends on where you are, but if you're in the Pacific, can you talk a little bit about those stories which you've experienced?
00:39:02So, priority mail for international, for USPS, is about six to ten days.
00:39:09Others average about seven to 14 days.
00:39:12So, from our position, you know, two weeks is very friendly to the military voter, but we recommend seven days as the gold standard.
00:39:21Yeah.
00:39:22And so the process is, if you're on a base, can you just talk about that?
00:39:25I actually don't know how it, or if you're, let me say this, if you're on an aircraft carrier in the middle of the Pacific, how does that, how do you get, how mail gets delivered?
00:39:34Well, I personally have never been on an aircraft carrier in the middle of the Pacific.
00:39:36Well, someone in your organization probably has.
00:39:38But, yes, we do have members with that experience.
00:39:40I can, I can, I can share, I can share when it doesn't go well.
00:39:45So, we have a member who was stationed, because we do have people who are stationed, families who are stationed on installations that aren't US military installations.
00:39:53So, in military installation, connected to the United States, we, we have access to our mail system.
00:39:59But, for example, we have one member who was stationed on a Canadian military installation, so, therefore, she did not have access to US mail.
00:40:07And, um, actually ended up having to pay a private courier to then courier her ballot back to make the deadline extremely expensive, and we know the majority in our community do not have those financial resources to do that.
00:40:20And I, and I, and I share this story for two reasons.
00:40:22One, to, you know, hit home really what the mail delay situation and those barriers can be for us, but also really to express how many people in our community desperately want to participate in this process and are really looking for policymakers to make it as accessible
00:40:37as possible for us to do so.
00:40:39Thank you for that answer, and I guess you're right, you're a spouse of, so you wouldn't, that makes sense.
00:40:44It's Tuesday, I apologize, I'm not really fully functioning yet.
00:40:49The other thing that you mentioned, which I hadn't really given thought to, but I guess makes a great deal of sense, is that you may be on a military base, but you may be in a host country, and you have to make that connection somehow.
00:41:01And so I appreciate your comments about that.
00:41:05I would say this, and I appreciate all the witnesses and your perspective, and I just, from my perspective, getting this right is more important than getting it fast.
00:41:19And I, like I said in my opening statement, I'm certainly willing to look at, and obviously with the Elections Assistance Commission, we can all look at ways to improve this and make this faster for everyone to some degree.
00:41:32But we also want to respect the notion that California and other states want to get it right.
00:41:38They want to afford every single voter in their state the opportunity to vote.
00:41:42And look, this isn't, it shouldn't be a gotcha.
00:41:45I mean, the right to vote should be inalienable.
00:41:48It is, you know, according to our founders, inalienable rights that we have.
00:41:54And so the fact that California takes time to get it right, and I suspect from the fact that there were no contested elections that they actually did get it right.
00:42:01So I don't want to value speed over doing this properly and getting it right.
00:42:06So anyway, I thank the witnesses for being here.
00:42:08Mr. Chair, I yield back.
00:42:09The gentleman yields back.
00:42:10The representative from Oklahoma, Ms. Bice, is recognized for five minutes.
00:42:14Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for the witnesses for being here today.
00:42:17First, let me say that I represent the great state of Oklahoma, and prior to being elected to Congress, I was in the State Senate where I oversaw the State Election Commission.
00:42:28Shout out to Paul Xerox, Secretary of the Election Board there.
00:42:32You know, Oklahoma, I think, is doing elections right.
00:42:36We have voter ID laws in place and have had them based on a state question that was put forward to the voters a couple of decades ago.
00:42:45And that ensures that a couple of things.
00:42:48One, that the election is verified and there's integrity in that process.
00:42:54And also speed, and my colleague, the ranking member, just talked about speed.
00:43:00I've now participated in several elections in the State Legislature and now as a member of Congress.
00:43:05And I know on election night whether or not I'm going to serve in that capacity.
00:43:11I think it is unbelievable to hear that it takes a month for the State of California to be able to certify these elections.
00:43:21That in itself provides uncertainty in the process.
00:43:25And I think that's what's really problematic here.
00:43:28I want to mention earlier the comments that the ranking member made in regards to the Votes Act.
00:43:34No matter a service member's status and no matter if you're in the service or not, each state has procedures for all eligible overseas Americans to vote.
00:43:45And those options always require or include mail.
00:43:50But let me be clear.
00:43:51If there are examples of overseas voters being denied by a state, we want to hear about that.
00:43:55Because we certainly want to make sure that we're addressing that issue.
00:43:58It's important to every member on this committee.
00:44:02Let me start, if I may.
00:44:06Miss Titus, almost two million more ballots were cast in California's presidential election in 2020 than in 2024.
00:44:15Do you believe the larger turnout in California was due to ballot harvesting efforts?
00:44:21I'm not sure that the turnout in 2020 being higher than 2024 was a cause of ballot harvesting.
00:44:28I think every cycle the political parties tend to be the drivers of ballot harvesting.
00:44:34They tend to be the ones that are training the campaigns how to do it.
00:44:38Because the campaigns sort of change every two years.
00:44:41And so the parties are kind of the keepers of the procedures for how to execute ballot harvesting.
00:44:46And I tend to think that they get better at it year after year.
00:44:49So I'm not sure that turnout going down over a four year period is caused by ballot harvesting.
00:44:54I think it's worth noting though that in 2020 there were 2.39 million more mail-in votes than in 2024.
00:45:04That's a huge number.
00:45:06I want to pivot for a second to the curing conversation.
00:45:09Being from Oklahoma, I didn't know what that was.
00:45:12I had no idea what curing actually meant.
00:45:15And again, I think that just brings some uncertainty to the process.
00:45:19And so I want to pivot slightly.
00:45:21You mentioned the signature verification process.
00:45:25Raise of hands here.
00:45:27How many of you use the exact same signature every time?
00:45:31Or have the exact same signature today that you did a decade ago?
00:45:35Raise your hand.
00:45:39You're the only one, my friend.
00:45:41My point being, I don't understand why we're using signature verification for this process.
00:45:47It's not, I think, it provides the ability for inaccuracies across the board.
00:45:53And I understand that you're taking information from all these different public records to be able to verify those signatures.
00:46:00But I think that in itself is problematic.
00:46:02I don't understand why we wouldn't do a voter ID type of process.
00:46:06The other thing that's been mentioned is that we are allowing for this lengthy process of being able to deliver ballots after election day.
00:46:16And again, I think that breeds uncertainty.
00:46:18We want people to have confidence in our elections.
00:46:21And that means timely information.
00:46:24That means a quick turnaround on counting those ballots.
00:46:27So for me, I also think that California should consider actually moving some of these dates up.
00:46:32Why are we not allowing more in-person voting, early in-person voting?
00:46:37It was mentioned there was one day Saturday that you can in-person vote.
00:46:41Why not tell people your ballot needs to be in by election day?
00:46:44And by the way, we're going to have additional in-person voting days to be able to allow for that.
00:46:51Mr. Gilbert, you mentioned Californians maintenance or rather missed maintenance of voter rolls and recommended actions to improve them.
00:47:01How many signatures do we think that California has on file for verification and how old are they?
00:47:07Typically, every voter has about four to five signatures on file.
00:47:11Every time you change something at the DMV or you submit another voter registration when you move,
00:47:17those would be updated and added permanently to your voter file.
00:47:20I think this sort of proves my point that your signature may change over time
00:47:25and certainly that verification process, I think, becomes much more complicated.
00:47:29As a state that doesn't do signature verification and believes that we do elections like a right,
00:47:34I'd like to see that change.
00:47:36With that, Mr. Chair, I yield.
00:47:38The gentlewoman yields back.
00:47:39Representative Sewell is recognized for five minutes.
00:47:41Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
00:47:42I want to welcome all of our witnesses and thank you for your testimony today.
00:47:46I'm a daughter of Selma, Alabama.
00:47:48I grew up there.
00:47:49I have the honor and privilege of representing them in Congress.
00:47:52And there's nothing more important and sacred than the right to vote, in my opinion.
00:47:56And protecting that right, I think, is something that is clearly within our preview here on this committee.
00:48:03I'm a little bit puzzled by our hearing today.
00:48:06I mean, the first premise that is being made is that somehow giving everyone a ballot who is eligible is somehow flawed.
00:48:16You know, I think that we as elected officials should be in the business of making it easier for people to vote, not harder for people to vote.
00:48:24I represent Alabama, and Alabama has same-day voting only.
00:48:29We don't have early voting.
00:48:30We don't have, our absentee ballot process has been restricted.
00:48:35You can't even help your elderly grandmother without thinking, without helping her to vote, who has, you know, an elderly grandmother who has a stroke, a stroke victim.
00:48:47You can't help them prepare their ballot by, because you're, for fear of a felony being committed.
00:48:55That's the most recent charge that Alabama has.
00:49:00You know, there are, Alabama, I mean, California is one of the largest states in the union, and they have a lot of folks.
00:49:10And they provide eligible voters their vote by mail.
00:49:15And so, I don't think that there is something inherently wrong with sending ballots out to every eligible voter.
00:49:22In fact, I would venture to guess that Alabama, that California does have a better return rate and participation rate than states like Alabama that make it harder for folks to vote.
00:49:34And the second reason why we're here today is because somehow getting it, getting the results that same night is so critically important.
00:49:42It's more important than making sure that our overseas military personnel who are eligible voters get their ballots back in a timely fashion.
00:49:52I'm not sure what timely is, but I can tell you same day results does not make it any less prone to fraud or any more prone to fraud.
00:50:03Rather, it allows eligible voters time, especially those that are overseas, an opportunity to cast their ballot.
00:50:12I would venture to guess, Mr. Chairman, that it's more important that we protect that sacred right to vote than to get some result in that same night.
00:50:23So, for me, I think that I've been encouraging folks in the state of Alabama to do early voting and to make it easier for folks to vote, not harder for folks to vote.
00:50:38And I'm not really sure why my colleagues don't think that that's right, especially when the Brennan Center says that there's a 0.05% of fraud that occurs during elections, not a rampant fraud from everyone.
00:50:55So, I'd like to ask you, Mr. Palmer, as one of the commissioners for the Federal Election Commission, are there best practices that are recommended when it comes to military personnel voting or absentee balloting?
00:51:13Is there sort of one way to do that?
00:51:17And I also would like, I guess, the first question that I have for you is, is it a right for American citizens to have the right to vote when they turn 18?
00:51:32Isn't that a right that every American citizen has?
00:51:35And if so, why is it that so many states like Alabama make it harder for folks to vote rather than easier for folks to vote?
00:51:47The EAC's clearinghouse function sort of takes best practices from across the country and we share them with each other so states can see how things are working across the country.
00:51:58Our EVE survey is something that our election officials across the country could also view and compare it to other states and similar counties.
00:52:06And I agree with you that, you know, coming of age at 18 and being able to register to vote and vote, you know, talking about the opportunities
00:52:16It may include in person, you know, in person absentee, it may include in person early voting, overseas voting.
00:52:23So there's no action, I'm running out of time, so there's no sort of standardized practice that is recommended by the commission?
00:52:31No, I think we take a best practices look and also the use of technology to make our elections more efficient.
00:52:38Yeah.
00:52:39Mr. Chairman, I just want to just go on record as saying that the right to vote is a sacred right.
00:52:45It is not a privilege for the few.
00:52:48Somehow we, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle think that somehow it's a privilege.
00:52:53It is a birthright of every American citizen to be able to vote and we should be in the business of making it easier to vote, not harder to vote.
00:53:00I'd like to put into the record, unanimous consent to enter into the record, two items, a letter we sent to you, Mr. Chairman, requesting that the majority be allowed to have it testify by remote access.
00:53:13And secondly, a January 2025 Orange County grand jury report on November 20, of the November 2024 election, which made three findings that there was no evidence of fraud and out.
00:53:26Without objection.
00:53:28I yield back the balance of my time.
00:53:29Representative yields back.
00:53:30The representative from Illinois, Ms. Miller, is recognized for five minutes.
00:53:34Thank you, Chairman.
00:53:35Chairman Palmer, you previously served as the Florida Director of Education, I mean of elections, and the Commonwealth.
00:53:43of Virginia's chief election official.
00:53:46What is the starkest contrast between how those states collect their ballots and California?
00:53:53Well, I think that the starkest difference or the contrast is sort of the results early voting and election day plus pre-processed absentees are all those are ready to go on election night.
00:54:08The mail ballot model really allows those ballots to be returned either by the mail on election day, which will then take seven to ten days into the certification period, or a ballot box, which then those ballots still need to be processed.
00:54:27So, you already have the results when you're voting in person, or early voting, or pre-processed absentee with some deadline.
00:54:34Those ballots are ready to go, and those results will be ready to go on election night.
00:54:40If you are waiting to receive mail ballots, you then have to go through the process of signature comparison, processing those ballots, secure periods.
00:54:50So, that is why it takes so long in a mail ballot model, it takes longer.
00:54:55Large populations and large counties, you're going to have a large number of issues in getting those ballots tabulated and the results out.
00:55:04And so, it just pushes the results later into the period.
00:55:09Hope that helps.
00:55:10Yes.
00:55:11So, what would you say, then, are procedures or model legislation California should adopt from states that you previously served?
00:55:19So, I believe the pre-processing of absentee or mail ballots is important.
00:55:24Early voting that allows the tabulation of a ballot on site.
00:55:28And then, election day, a healthy election day.
00:55:32So, you give options to voters.
00:55:34I also think that there should be a deadline for absentee or mail ballots prior to election day.
00:55:42And then, they should be returned by election day.
00:55:46That allows voters to know that if they don't have the option to return their ballot by mail or absentee, that they can still vote in person.
00:55:55And so, that allows the system to work.
00:55:58We're relying too much on the USPS.
00:56:01The USPS is having major issues.
00:56:04They continue to extend their service dates.
00:56:07And that has a direct impact on elections and voters.
00:56:10You'll find in a lot of mail ballot states that voters do no longer trust the United States Postal Service to get their ballots in on time.
00:56:17So, they're going to return it in person or a ballot box.
00:56:21Again, when you return a ballot by mail the box, it still has got to go through that entire process of processing as if it was a mail ballot.
00:56:29And so, I think that those are some of my recommendations for a state trying to make the process more efficient on the front end.
00:56:38And Mr. Gilbert, can you please expand on how the Voters Choice Act has complicated ballot counting for election workers by allowing numerous different ballots to be submitted in one voting location?
00:56:54So, when previously you would just go into your precinct and vote, now a vote center has to supply any given ballot to any voter.
00:57:02So, for instance, if you live in my area, if you live in Kalinga and you're in Fresno to work and you're at the Fresno vote center, they have to provide your ballot for the city of Kalinga.
00:57:13When typically you would have to be nearer to your home, so now that vote center is in charge of sorting that ballot, which is nothing like the Fresno City ballots around it.
00:57:23And also, they have to be able to provide conditional voter registrations.
00:57:26So, if you have not registered to vote and you would like to vote, you also can register that same day and vote, and those are extremely time consuming.
00:57:34Are there other election processes that have become more burdensome due to the Voters Choice Act?
00:57:43I would say that the number one thing we've seen ever since they started mailing ballots to everyone is California still does mail to PO boxes as well, not just physical addresses.
00:57:55If you go into any United States Postal Service towards the PO boxes about 30 days before the election, you can find about a couple hundred ballots in the trash can.
00:58:03So, I think that's a security concern and one of the things we've seen since the change in procedure.
00:58:09Thank you. And I yield back, Chairman.
00:58:11The gentleman yields back. The gentleman from California, Representative Torres, is recognized for five minutes.
00:58:17Thank you. And let me just start by saying that as the only Californian on this committee, I am outraged.
00:58:25I am simply outraged at the continued attacks from this committee against my home state, Chairman.
00:58:32How dare this committee attack the duly elected members of the state legislature?
00:58:40Who were elected by Californians to represent them?
00:58:47The fact is, California is doing just fine without your input.
00:58:52Let's look at the facts. California is the fourth largest economy in the world.
00:59:02We send 692 billion to the federal government and we get 83 billion less in return.
00:59:13Meanwhile, Florida gets 41 billion more. Ohio gets 49 billion more. Texas gets 71 billion more.
00:59:23So, do us a favor. And when your state rises to the level of California, then let's talk about fixing California.
00:59:35So, let's now talk about elections. Last year, the chairman and other Republicans, without giving Democrats on this committee a heads up,
00:59:47went to Los Angeles, wasting taxpayers' dollars and time to look for problems. And guess what? They found zero. Zero problems.
00:59:59Zero problems. They visited the largest ballot processing center in the nation, responsible for nearly 6 million registered voters.
01:00:09That's bigger than 28 states in the nation. Not a single committee, not a single Republican or political observer contested the outcome of any house race or provided any evidence that California suffered from fraud or any other issues.
01:00:28Why is that? Because California members, our election infrastructure is sound. We invest in a secured system, rigorous training and transparency at every level. California has worked hard to ensure that every eligible American voter can cast their vote and as frustrating as it may be to you and to other people.
01:00:57We invest in a lot of people, including myself at times. Our fantastic state and local election workers make sure that our elections happen and that they are safe. As the mother of a veteran and a police officer, I know voters might serve far from their home or they might be a first responder that has to work on election day.
01:01:23So voters can't always take a day off.
01:01:25They might have mobility issues. This is why California established voting by mail.
01:01:30To make it so that every eligible Californian can have their voice heard.
01:01:38California's promise to our voters, whether we like how they vote or not, your voice as a voter is heard.
01:01:46Normally, I would welcome a discussion on improving election operations. But these are not normal times. You see, President Trump and his cronies like Elon Musk do not care about the rule of law or the Constitution.
01:02:04They're destroying the economy, attacking and arresting judges and recently deported three American citizens, children, including a two year old toddler and a four year old with stage four cancer, a rare cancer.
01:02:22If President Trump and his administration don't care about due process for a child with cancer.
01:02:28How can you honestly sit here and debate and believe that they believe in the Constitution or a free and fair election hogwash?
01:02:38They ignore judges when decisions don't go their way. They deny election results when they don't win.
01:02:46Let's be honest, Chairman. Their actions on elections has one goal to sow distrust in our election system, to suppress the vote and to make it harder for Americans to participate in our democracy, not your democracy, our democracy.
01:03:04Do you know what makes people question our elections? It's not California elections.
01:03:10It is the President Trump, Elon Musk and the Republican Party pushing lies and refusing to follow the law.
01:03:18Meanwhile, Trump's voting order and the Republican SAFE Act will create huge burdens of every American.
01:03:27You've allowed other members to go beyond their time, but you don't like what I'm saying, so you're trying to shut me down.
01:03:33The SAFE Act is nothing but a bill to try to cancel the vote of people that don't want to vote for you, and I yield back.
01:03:47The gentleman yields back. All members are reminded to refrain from the use of personalities directed at members of Congress, the President or the Vice President.
01:03:55All members, having used their time for questions, I'd like to thank our witnesses for appearing before us today. Members of the committee may have some additional questions for you, and we ask you to please respond to those questions in writing.
01:04:07Without objection, each member will have five legislative days to insert additional material into the record or to revise and extend their remarks.
01:04:13If there's no further business, I want to thank the members for their participation. Without objection, the committee stands adjourned.