For a moment, do not leave the meeting. At this time i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days and that any remarks be made part of the record. Hearing no objections, so ordered. Today, we are examining new information in the 2020 election. How the spread of false information impacts voters and what can be done to combat this and ensure that americans can go forward in short armed with Accurate Information. Information ss misinformation without recognizing the persistent misinformation being spread about the ongoing covid19 pandemic. Americans need Accurate Information about how to cast their ballots about the pandemic, and important Accurate Information on how to cast their ballots in a manner that protects their health. Election day maybe four weeks from today, but voting is well underway. Overseas and military ballots were sent out a few weeks ago. Absentee ballots can be requested now and returned in the weeks ahead. More than 30 states are already mailin ballots to voters. Early in person voting began in many states and will do so in the weeks ahead. Early voting begins in ohio today. The American People are voting and will be voting now through november 3. During all of this, the president and others are waging an insidious campaign to so distrust in our process by spreading false claims that vote by mail is right for fraud, making unsubstantiated claims that the election will be rate, encouraging people to vote twice which is illegal and wrong. Additionally, u. S. Intelligence agencies warned that russia has continued its Disinformation Campaign and continues to interfere in the election. In 2016, no group of americans were targeted more by Russian Internet disinformation than africanamericans. American people deserve the truth. They deserve an election free from the fraud of false information and Voter Suppression. The truth is, millions of americans including the president and members of his administration cast a ballot by mail every election cycle with exceedingly rare instances of fraud. As significantly more americans prepared to cast their ballots from home this year than ever before, the American People must be prepared that we may not know the winner of the election on the night of november 3. This does not mean that anything is wrong with the election. Ify states often take days not weeks to certify their results. This also allows ballots that were mailed on election day to be counted. That there is nothing the various. It is simply about counting ballots. The count must be accurate and that takes time. Every validly cast vote should count. That is democracy. Most votes are cast on election day, and we should count them. Not spread fear and lie about a rigged election. Misinformation being spread in the lead up to this years election is a disservice to voters and a danger to our democracy. And our democratic institution. The house past the shield act in 2019 which would address the spread of misinformation including prohibiting the spread of false information about voting but the senate has refused to act. It is our duty to ensure voters have all of the necessary Accurate Information you need to cast their ballots freely, fairly, and safely during the pandemic and with confidence in our electoral system. I think our witnesses for being here today and i look forward to hearing your testimony. The Ranking Member is unfortunately unable to join us today. I ask unanimous consent that his statement be made part of the record. Without objection, so ordered. Will be recognized for five minutes. Thatl remind our witnesses their entire written statements will be made part of the record and that the record will remain open for at least five days for additional materials to be submitted. Another reminder to our witnesses, there is a timer on the screen. Please be sure you can see it and you are mindful of the five minute limit. , a commissioner with the u. S. Election assistance commission. The commissioner was confirmed in the senate on january 2, 2019. He previously served as acting chief counsel for the Senate Committee on rules and administration. Is colorados 39th secretary of state. She began her term in 2019. She is the youngest elected secretary of state in the country. Internationaled anticorruption law, worked as a Voter Protection attorney, and previously served as guest is a member of the board of elections having served since april 2007. She is a law partner in cleveland and chairs her firms nonprofit group. Mr. Overton is a tenure professor at George WashingtonUniversity School of law. At theiously served department of justice during the obama administration. It is interesting to note that hearingolding this during National Voter education week. For there five minutes. You arein today recognized for five and its. Good afternoon. I appreciate this opportunity to testify today regarding the u. S. Election system ongoing work. Combating disinformation was one of the expected issues of the 2020 election and the covid19 pandemic has only exacerbated the risk. For interference in our elections, there has been an increased focus and dedication to the security of our elections. The department of homeland to codifyas helped and coordinate efforts between federal, state, and local Government Agencies as well as private industry. This has led to a change in information sharing and coupled with an act his greatly improved the Security Posture of our elections. That commitment to securing our elections has continued, but it is impossible to discuss this election without acknowledging the impact of the covid19 pandemic. Since march amid the debates about the health of our communities and economy, Election Administrators have had a difficult path of determining how to adapt their practices and procedures to conduct safe, secure, accurate, elections. We have pivoted substantially to focus our attention on how we can support state and local Election Officials as they make tough decisions. We have also distributed almost 1. 2 billion in Grant Funding to the state since 2018. This includes 400 million from the cares act funds and additional Election Security funds. These resources have proven vital to improving Election Administration and covid19 related issues. Election administrators have risen to the challenges during these times. The Public Servant that administers elections can only did dust do their best when it impact ofimiting the disinformation. Clinical campaigns and Interest Groups are spending billions of dollars to influence americans. Adversaries are amplifying our divisions to dissuade participation or provide an Accurate Information about how voters can participate. Americans must come together to protect our nation, the electoral process, and voter confidence. We should help encourage confidence in the electoral process will have lighting the great work of our Election Administrators. Supporting efforts like the National Association of 2020 campaign are integral parts of ensuring that americans get the right information this year. Today, we are 28 days from election day. Citizensand overseas absentee ballots have been sent out around the world. Some registration deadlines have already passed. What we can focus on at this point are the basics. Serving voters well and helping them to have a positive experience whether they vote by mail, absentee, early in person, or on election day. Misinformation can interfere with that. Must push back against misinformation. Voters areon, d. C. , registered in one or two states or the district. Each state holds elections in a unique way. The effort i mentioned earlier is about helping in americans get Accurate Information about Election Administration from their state and local officials. This is the trusted source for each voter which provides correct information on how to participate. With all of the noise that surrounds this election, it is crucial that we encourage individuals to think through how they want to vote and trust source information. Most americans have the opportunity to vote in many ways. We know from the cdc that limiting congestion in the polling places will keep voting us it is deaf safe as possible. Get accurated to information about their voting. Ptions thank you again for the opportunity to testify today and i look forward to your questions. Thank you very much. From secretaryr griswold. You are recognized for five minutes. Thank you for your work on elections and for inviting me to this hearing. I am colorados secretary of state. Look forward to sharing my views on combating misinformation in the election. I believe Election Security is one of our greatest National Security risks. If Foreign Countries interfere with our election, it undermines faith in the entire electoral process. Then voters are less likely to participate which weakens our democracy. I would like to briefly discuss what we are facing and proposals for congressional action. The Intelligence Community and bipartisan Senate Committee on intelligence can concluded that russia interfered in the 2016 election. We know that enemies are trying to under undermine how we vote based on reports. Warningsust released noting foreign actors may try to undermine confidence in the results. Foreign adversaries are meddling in our elections. We cannot allow this to continue. In response to ensure colorado remains at the forefront of preparedness and that we remain confident in our process, i unit to combat misinformation and cyber threats. The rescue team is coordinating with partners by implementing a Public Outreach effort to ensure we ignore the noise. Ensuring my office can rapidly respond to misinformation by releasing Accurate Information and ensuring county and nongovernmental partners work with us to rule out correct information. We are also working with dhs and the fbi. Following the election, we will toward enhancing our resistance to foreign interference. Covid19er, before shut down our state legislature, i proposed legislation to combat disinformation and colorado. The proposal strengthens requirements to ensure paid election messages are not coming from foreign sources. Campaigns from collaborating with foreign governments. Ensure that Foreign Countries do not use social media platforms as a tool to suppress americans votes. Colorado is leading on this and our democracy demands it. Congress also has an Important Role to play. From appropriations and warnings this ipublic to tackle recommend the following action. Congress should establish a commission with bipartisan representatives to develop recommendations to make sure what happened in 2016 and is happening right now never happens again. Congress should provide adequate foring to states cybersecurity. Third, congress should require the Intelligence Community to declassify foreign misinformation and work with a partisan representatives from state and federal government to rule out the information to the fifth to the public. Fourth, congress should consider legislation to combat election misinformation and foreign coordination. I also call on congress to act to remove the artificial protections afforded to social Media Companies. Social Media Companies are not neutral platforms. Content can promote ill intentioned for an activity. They should not be shielded from accountability. While social media can be a tool for good, adversaries can use it as never seen before. I am grateful for this opportunity to testify today. I am optimistic that we can counter foreign misinformation and make sure every american has a democracy we can believe in. Thank you. Next guest, you are recognized for five and its. Five minutes. I appreciate the opportunity to speak. I have served on the ohio board of elections including the last three president ial elections, i have never witnessed the falsehoods being disseminated about the integrity of our elections process that i have seen in this cycle. The line that there is rampant voting fraud has been tamped n, it is a fact voters in ohio have been voting by mail successfully since 2006. Our ohio secretary of state has published a number of materials highlighting the goals and tactics of the Disinformation Campaigns we are seeing. These campaigns are taking , amplifyingues protests andnizing so forth using internet and social media to launch campaigns with the goal of subversion, civil unrest. The campaigns are building distrust and cynicism cynicism and discouraging public participation. There are a number of foreign bad actors engaging in this campaign. Misinformation is being promoted by President Trump, the white house, and other bad actors who have unfairly demonized the vote by mail process and undermined public confidence. We are committed to combating this in a number of ways. We began implementing a new initiative to encourage voters to vote by mail to maximize their safety in the pandemic and that initiative is called vote from home. Were also trying to separate fact from fission from fiction by making sure voting is secure. Misinformation with facts using mythbusters campaign. Samples of our messages were included with my written testimony. We have ramped up efforts to connect with voters by education and Community Outreach as a way to combat misinformation and disinformation. We connect with over 300 Community Partners regularly. Although we only have three employees in our outreach department, these individuals organize and present events that educate and gauge voters. And we a robust website have vastly improved our social media presence. We are working to expand those capabilities. One new program we are proud of session onengagement facebook live. The session is held twice per minutesnoon for 1015 to provide information and updates on the election, to address deadlines. we post pertinent information on all outlets weekly and all of this and more often if we need to and its an effort to counter inaccurate and dangerous messaging being circulated in both traditional media and social media. We have been thinking about ways Congress Might help boards of elections combat misinformation. Additional funding to allow for more robust Community Outreach and Voter Education programming, hiring additional staff to work with voters and earmarking money to improve social media capabilities would be welcomed. I am hopeful the information i share with you today will help you as you consider ways to stop misinformation and restore voter confidence in our election process. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today and it is appropriate we are having this hearing on Voter Education week and i am pleased to be here and i would be happy to answer any questions you have. Thank you. Membersning, a couple of my staff happened to be down by the board of elections and took videos of people lined up around the block. On the very first day of in person voting. Next guest, you are recognized for five minutes. Congresswoman and committee members, thank you so much. Jointresident of the center which is americas black think tank. Law also a tenured professor at gw. Social media platforms are fueling the spread of lies that are undermining our democracy. This crisis is not hypothetical. Organization associated with Russian Military intelligence erected fake accounts pretending to be africanamericans and they urged lacked people to protest by not voting. The russians directed 38 of their u. S. Facebook advertising buys toward africanamericans even though black folks are only 13 of the u. S. Population. In 2000 16, the Trump Campaign divided millions of americans into several categories calledng a category they deterrence. It cant it targeted those voters with tailored social media ads discouraging them from voting. It black voters were disproportionately singled out although African Americans account for only 22 percent of North Carolinas population, they were 46 of the North Carolina voters laded as deterrence labeled as determinants. Millionaign labeled 3. 5 black voters for deterrence. The 2016 election marked the largest decline in black voters in modern history. It is no surprise these efforts continue now. Russianse primary, targeted black users with online disinformation about senator Kamala Harris. Facebook and, twitter acknowledged they removed a network of russian backed account originating in nigeria that targeted black communities in the u. S. Last month, the department of Homeland Security revealed that russia is attempting to reveal false statements online mailin ballots or little with fraud. When some social Media Companies started to remove these lies, the Trump Administration retaliated by issuing an executive order to amend a section of the Communications Decency act. That gives social Media Companies the power to remove disinformation if it is obscene, violent, or otherwise objectionable without the risk of legal liability. The Trump Administration proposal would propose the removal of platforms to remove obscene and violent content, but would eliminate the power to remove other objectionable content like election disinformation. If the trump proposals were adopted, companies could risk legal liability for removing ads targeting users telling them things like you cant vote if someone in your household has committed a crime. The company removing lies about our elections does not stifle free speech. This elevates civil rights in our democracy. Many of these platforms are not simply unmoderated community billboards, but instead, they algorithmsly crafted to grab the users attention and maximize ad revenue. Just as the companys review remove adult pornography without violating speech, they should remove false voting information. Many of the worlds most Profitable Companies should not profit from disinformation against marginalized communities. Mark zuckerberg said voting is voice and it is the single most powerful expression of democracy. Must takeer Companies Action to end Voter Suppression. While the russians and the Trump Campaign purchase misleading ads targeting black voters encouraging them not to vote, they push to rewrite federal law so the platforms cant remove disinformation about elections. We need companies to unequivocally stand up and promote or remove all disinformation to prevent a repeat of 2016. Online platforms have made progress, but they need to do much more. I look forward to talking about that in q a. We have less than one month to Work Together to prevent the burning of our democracy. We need all hands on the bucket line. Thank you, and i look forward to our discussion. It is now time for our members to ask their questions. Let me just say, you will notice there are no republicans on this call. I would suggest that by their absence, they have decided that they are not concerned about at best, they dont care to be involved in this discussion. Mr. That, i would recognize butterfield who is traveling as you can see. This issue was important enough for him to front his automobile to be part of this discussion. You are now recognized for five minutes. Thank you and its good to see my democratic colleagues here today. I am disappointed that my republican colleagues did not see the wisdom in participating in this conversation today. We will hear from the witnesses. Thank you to all of the witnesses for your testimony. Let me start with the gentleman from the election assistance commission. Thank you for all that you do for your country. I need to extend the conversation about the misinformation and disinformation subject. I think dr. Overton touched on it and it is so critically important. What resources, what initiatives are states and local officials utilizing to combat such misinformation . What resources are the states using and local cities and counties using . Thank you, congressman. I appreciate the question. When we talk about trusted the trusted info 2020 effort, that is about getting people to their standard local election official. I mentioned the cares act funding earlier. We heard from a lot of states that they have they are going to use a portion of that to work on Voter Education and that is a huge issue. Different states are administering different processes. We heard from witnesses that we will see a recordsetting use of mail and or absentee ballots. States haveo the the resources they need . Wewe had a hearing where were doing primary Lessons Learned and between that and the number of other conversations, we have consistently heard about the need for additional funding. Obviously, elections are under resourced traditionally. The federal funding has made a big difference, but there is absolutely a need for more. We consistently hear from officials about the need for an annual regular funding stream. In the statesyou i am familiar with, resources are desperately needed. Thank you for your testimony. Thank you for the incredible work that you do on behalf of black americans every day. You talked a moment ago about social media and how harmful this can be. What is the role of social media efforts to misinform and suppress voting in black communities . You said they are doing better, but are they really . Knowwant to acknowledge, i your father played a pivotal role in furthering Voting Rights. He would be proud of you and your contributions to Voting Rights. It thank you. In terms of these companies, they need to do a lot more. They need to step up to the plate. There are things they are doing in terms of content moderation. Need to do more in terms of a more rigorous definition of voter transport Voter Suppression. Are they effective in their enforcement . There are several things they need to do to step up their game. We have got to press them, because they are key in terms of preventing Voter Suppression. They are getting a lot of pressure from this administration and they need to know the people are paying attention, we are holding them accountable to prevent Voter Suppression. Rolethink officials have a to play. What recommendations can you make to state of local state and local Election Officials to make sure that black and brown voters are not misinformed . One center put out a great document on this. It is providing the Accurate Information that exists and being a trusted source of information. We have heard these recommendations from fellow witnesses. Of ais key in terms critical place to go where there is Accurate Information and ensuring in the final 30 seconds, what can voters do to guarantee their votes are not discarded . Number one, they need to what they see online may be false. They need to Pay Attention to that. Number two, if they are voting by mail, one of the big issues rejectedre ballots because there was something that was not filled out. They need to Pay Attention in terms of voting by mail. Most important thing is, they have to participate. Dont be discouraged by what is happening. His patient is critical. Thank you, i will spread that throughout my district. Pay attention. Bywe have now been joined the chair of the full committee from california. Much. Hank you very i wanted to hop on for a few minutes to listen to this incredible panel and also to thank you for your leadership. As chair of the election subcommittee and the members who have joined you today. I wish that our colleagues across the aisle had joined us. Maybe they still will. It should not be a partisan issue. The issue of every american being able to cast their vote freely and to have that vote counted as cast. It is the bottom line for america. What you are doing today is important in terms of shining a spotlight on what the issues are, but also telling each and every one of us as community leaders, as voters, what we can do to make sure that that goal every american citizen gets the chance to cast their vote. Thank you so much for doing this. Im going to hop off in another minute to another obligation, but i didnt want to pass up the opportunity to listen and thank you for the leadership you have shown. Thank you for joining us, we appreciate it. We know how busy your schedule is. Recognized the representative from california for five minutes. Thank you for your steadfast leadership. As i have said in this committee, our goal should be to remove the barriers that prevent americans from voting. That means making sure it is safe in the midst of a pandemic. That one safe and effective form that we know our speakers talked about was utilizing mailin ballots which allow americans to vote safely from their homes. Despite claims from the minority, and i wish they were here to defend themselves about this topic, there is no fraudicant risk of voter associated with mailin ballots. These claims could also misinform millions of americans as they create their plan to vote. Elections experts across the political spectrum agree that voting fraud is exceedingly rare. Whether you want to trust a center for justice or the heritage foundation, the results are the same. It fraudulent vote by mail cast are minuscule. There is no legitimate concern over voter fraud. Yet it is more likely for americans to get struck by lightning than to commit mail voting fraud. It is more rare than winning the mega millions. Misinformation about voting by mail is dangerous and could cause millions of americans to alter their plan and that would be a mistake. In exercising their right to vote. That is why House Democrats have passed numerous wills through this community and the full house to help americans vote safely, accurately, and without fraud during the pandemic. We need to continue to do that. My question to mr. Overton, we have seen a growing misinformation targeting communities of color. Social media posts from actors including political opinions of minority voters to depress voter turnout. We have seen this despicable information. Two americans were charged with conspiring to intimidate voters in violation of election law. Robosent thousands of calls to africanamerican communities in at least five states telling residents that voting by mail is subject to their arrest and Debt Collection and enforced vaccination. To fight theo Disinformation Campaign . Thank you so much for that question. What is important about your question is it illustrates that the evolving nature of Voter Suppression. We have had robo calls in the past. They have happened in michigan and across the country. Michigan, 12,000 residents were targeted with robo calls to discourage them from voting. They were impersonating trying to pretend they were someone from the community. We have seen the same thing in regard to social media. This is an evolution with regard to social media. Steps, we need to recognize there is a lot of misinformation that is out there and voters need to trust credible sources to go to your Elections Officials website and get Accurate Information. Voters need to develop a plan to vote. That is incredibly important. Have a plan and go out and vote now. Dont be discouraged. There are so many people who would say, lets protest all that is going on. Was an attempt to suppress voters of color. People cannot fall into that trap. They need good information and they need to participate. As more and more voters are voting early, more than one Million People have already voted. The chairperson mentioned in her own communities, people are already voting. I am concerned that right now is the time these Disinformation Campaigns are going to ramp up their efforts because many people know that their political interests are not served when more people exercise their right to vote. I ask unanimous consent that a september 30 article published in the New York Times entitled study finds single largest voter mismanagementrus from the entered into the record. Also a piece entitled the attack on voting, how President Trumps false claim of voter fraud is being used to disenfranchise americans. Those both be entered into the record. Without objection, so ordered. Thank you for your great leadership in calling this hearing. Are stayingthat we laser focused on the integrity of the selection. I want to go to my friend mr. Overton first. Welcome, professor. President trump has been engaged alreadyformation calling the election of fraud, a scam, a hoax, millions of fake ballots. This discourages and depresses voting. It demoralizes voters. It also promotes a smokescreen fora fog of propaganda legislatures that may be trying to depress turnout and it be trying to discredit what might be a landslide popular vote based on the polls today for joe biden and replace the popular vote with electors that have been appointed directly by the state legislature. Of propaganda and disinformation is very important in terms of trying to preserve the integrity of popular democracy and the state in the president ial election. I wonder if you would comment about facebook . Twitter has implemented a ban on political ads in its platform. Adsaid it would ban referencing the election and candidates after november 3 through january 6. Facebook has said Something Interesting which is it will prohibit false and misleading ads from october 27 through november 3. Upknow that there could be slew of propaganda coming on facebook after the election to try to cast doubt on the result falsely portraying trump as the winner when he is not the winner. On whatu comment facebook has done so far and i wonder if you think facebook should continue ban on false and misleading information after november 3 up until the Electoral College votes are cast and counted . In january in congress. Yes thank you so much. First of all, i have to acknowledge you have had such a strong commitment to democracy in terms of eliminating the wealth primary to prevent so many candidates from entering democracy. Your work to restore Voting Rights to citizens. I am a fan of your writings in terms of your scholarship so thank you so much. Congressman, facebook needs to do a number of things. Number one, they have to rightpoliticians now, they have a dual standard in terms of politicians and allowing politicians to promote false and misleading information. Need to ensure that before the election and after the election, when the ballots are being no falsethat there is and misleading information. They also have to strengthen their message of Voter Suppression. They would also say that they have 35,000 content moderators. They also have 2. 7 billion monthly active users around the world. Moderator out to one per 77,000 users. There are a number of things they have to step up to the plate on. Between now and november 3, the time after november 3 is also critical. Thank you. Facebook has been using the powerful instrument of disinformation and racial and ethnic propaganda and violence that has caused civil unrest and even mass atrocity in countries like sudan, myanmar, ethiopia etc. Would the committee you are suggesting also work on making sure that we dont get propaganda toward the goal of creating violence in the streets which seems to have been coached all the way to the top including includingtrump inciting the proud boys to standby . That is exactly right. We need a commission to move forward to make sure that this attack on our nations democracy from foreign adversaries does not continually happen every election. That goes from homegrown misinformation to the scanning of election infrastructure to the misinformation. The comments to the proud boys have real effects. Congress has the responsibility to making sure that communities have access. It is important to say that Voter Suppression is often systemic racism. When you have the president calling on neonazis, that is Voter Suppression. When you have the president calling on Law Enforcement which is a tactic out of the jim crow south, that is Voter Suppression. Number one, we have to tackle misinformation. Number two, i hope we continue a conversation about what it means to be an american and what access every american has. In colorado, we have accessible elections. Needs elections just like colorado to truly realize what it means to be a citizen. Unanimous request consent for two articles to be entered into the record. One is from the Washington Post entitled republicans have insufficient evidence to call elections rate. Another is entitled cambridge analytics database identifies black voters as right for deterrence. X without objection, so ordered. I will not recognize myself for five minutes. I will now recognize myself for five minutes. To both ladies on the panel, what do you say to people who say there is no Voter Suppression . Suppression can be seen in the lines around the buildings. It can be seen in the messages, but it also can be seen in the way that we have an ohio restricted their ability to vote. We have burdened the right to vote. There is a constitutionalist put would say we have structures in place to burden their rights. We have one dropbox. This is about messaging today, but it is about Voter Suppression. We have one dropbox for delivery of a ballot in a tiny parking lot next to our administrative building for 850,000 voters. It makes no sense at all. In one location, under state come. Here voters must it makes no sense. We need a robust manner in which voters can participate. I would tell people not to be discouraged, but they do need to take heart and take their job seriously. We have an obligation as boards of elections to make it easier whether it is up republican or democratic ballot, it doesnt make any sense. I want people to be encouraged. We need to tackle social media, but we need blocking and tackling tools for Voter Engagement. That is in person. This pandemic has created a problem. The board of elections, then i will defer to my colleague, we zoomve we have had we have beens that able to do with three staffers. We need funding and earmarking for a more robust Voter Engagement and Voter Education program for boards of election so we can counter as best we can all of the other messages that are being put out. Quickly, with the numbers we seeing across the country how do we tell tally the ballots without the racism and what do we do if we get hundreds of thousands of ale and ballots have to be ed a machine . What do you do . We have been able to vote by mail successfully in cuyahoga county. We are processing them, not tabulating. We are readying them to be processed. We air on the side of accuracy, not speed. We are going to have lots of issues in terms of the volume, which is a good thing. We will accurately count every ballot that is cast. Madam secretary, i know that you sued the Postal Service because they were giving out misinformation to your residence. Tell us how you handled the situation. Think itchairperson, i is important as secretary of state to push back against false election information and get voters correct information. We sued the u. S. Postal service and we won a restraining order about a postcard. We also sued on a multistate litigation and got a restraining order to make sure the Postal Service does not make operational changes. We won both of those restraining orders. I think that it highlights the need for national standards. The idea that we have misinformation trying to undermine boat vote by mail which is the most responsible weight during a pandemic can harm americans lives. Colorado is proof of how wonderful and a good election model can work. We have the highest percentage of active voters registered. We also lead the nation in turnout. We are usually number one or number two in participation. Vote by mail makes us more secure. Russia cannot hack a piece of paper. Lastly, it boosts participation. We saw an increase in participation when we adopted vote by mail by 9 including 13 10 amongk voters, latino voters, and 16 by young voters. I would like to see the further expansion of colorados election model. It works and everyone deserves the same access that colorado has. What doach of you you believe congress can do outside of resources, we know what kind of battle that is. Even though we have put the resources in two bills that have not been passed. What one thing do you think congress can do to ensure the American People to assure the American People were doing the best to make sure their ballots count. Thank you. Absolutely, this is critical particularly 28 days out. One of the real privileges of my job is that i get to travel around the country in normal times and see these behindthescenes processes. To see what Election Officials are doing and the checks and balances that go into the process. As leaders, congress has an ability to vote to tell voters about that and the importance of having a plan, understanding your process, understanding how to participate. One thing i have been part proud of, we have partnered with the the Cybersecurity Infrastructure agency on a project called the three cs of voting. Telling photos voters you need to be prepared, participating, and patient. That is about checking their voter registration, making sure you are updated, knowing how you want to vote. I mentioned several different options that most americans have whether by mail or absentee early absentee ballot or on election day. Figuring out what is best for you as an american, knowing how to engage in the process, then knowing that Election Night results arent always official. That is something the media usually does where they make calls. Election officials, to the you seehat on websites Election Night reporting, those are always unofficial results. There is a certification process that happens after election date. Officialsere election double check. That is where you make sure the numbers are right, you count every americans vote. Helping people understand more of that process and again, knowing that their state and local Election Officials are the trusted source and where they should get that information is crucial. Thank you very much. Encourage you to use your pulpit to user platforms to reach out to your constituents and to give them the assurance that they definitely need to be confident that their local elections administrators are doing their job. To help us debunk the myths. People listen to you guys. It is really important that to the extent that you can get messaging out on your websites and in person, it will be very helpful to the voting population and to all of your constituents. It will be helpful to all of the elections administrators. Thank you. Thank you. I would say number one, i am extremely confident in our elections in colorado. The first thing i would suggest is, make sure all of you are using your platforms to push up noise,sage, ignore the find your trusted source of election information, make a plan to vote, and vote a mail ballot, it is the best way to vote during a pandemic and allows us to social distancing have our voices heard. Second, i think we have to continue this conversation after november, because theres an attack on everyday people and our democracy. On foodp working class stamps up in a cabin in rural colorado. I will tell you, there are so ,any people like like me who are losing our democracy. Either because of voter the either because of the voter repression we see. I encourage as we look past november, we need to focus on ocracy corps democracy holistically. All of the tenets of democracy reform relate to each other. I look forward to seeing what you all do in the coming months and years, and always happy to help from colorado. Thank you. Work,nks so much for your for your field hearings, to give voice to real voters. Congress needs to use their platform to encourage people to vote and ensure there is good information out there both before the election and after the election. President trumps misinformation about vote by mail has actually been promoted by the russians. They take screenshots of his tweets, and they are using their fake accounts to promote them around, to basically discourage tople from participating and encourage them to lose faith in our system. There has to be a counter to that. Tech Companies Need to be held accountable to ensure they are removing this information di sinformation. Is Trump Administration encouraging them from removing this information. There needs to be a way to ensure they are taking down and removing this information. As secretary griswold says, being prepared to immediately reform democracy in january, you know, that is critical here, whether it is hr one, updating the Voting Rights act. I was at the beginning of the. Bama administration in 2009 my take is should have done more andrioritize democracy here include all americans. I urge you to prioritize the inclusion of all americans in terms of democratic reform. Thank you all so very much. I know this is a very busy time for all of us, as we are on the ballot. I know it is difficult to find time to get away. Thank all of the witnesses pivot i know you will have a busy schedule, as well. Elections have already started, voting has already started. Commissioner, i know how busy you are. I would just say this, in the absence of my friend, i am going to predict today that the American People are so discouraged by the attack on our democracy, that they are going vote in bigger the numbers in bigger numbers then anyone can imagine. I believe that americans have a real sense of fundamental fairness. They have a sense of what it means to believe in and support the constitution. What they believe is that elections do matter. Outow your job will be cut for you, because you will be inundated with ballots. Next month, you will be inundated. We are going to show our colleagues and the president of the united states, there is nothing you can do to kill this democracy. It is bigger than you. It is stronger than you. It is more resilient than you are. And we are going to win this election. Thepeople are going to win election. Because we are going to exercise to vote no matter what roadblock we put in our way. We are going to do what this country has always done. To what is right. I want to thank you all and to fight, i know you know how. No we are on your side. Know we are on your side. If we ever are in a position to do the things we can do for you, we will be right back i give you my word. We will. I give you my word. Way and nothe right be afraid to cast a ballot. Not be afraid to be intimidated. Thanks, everybody. I appreciate you also much. Have a great rest of your day. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2020] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] joe biden is on the road today and pennsylvania. He is traveling to gettysburg for a campaign event. We will have live coverage when he begins his remarks here on cspan. Ahead of the only Vice President ial debate of campaign 2020 taking place tomorrow, we are joined by Joel Goldstein of st. Louis State University law professor, author of the book, the white house vice presidency the path to significance. How much of a spotlight does President Trumps Coronavirus Diagnosis put on tomorrow night Vice President ial debate . Certainlyhink it enhances the importance. This would be the 11th Vice President of debate but the first time that the two Vice President ial candidates have seriousin the shadow of president ial illness. The fact that the two president ial candidates are the Oldest NationalParty Candidates to ever run for the presidency already lends some importance to the debate. As your question suggests, this unique situation certainly enhances all the more. Host is there any specific advantage or disadvantage for Kamala Harris or Vice President biden with the age of the two candidates and now the Health Condition of President Trump . I dont know that there is an advantage or disadvantage. I think it may change a little bit the tenor of the debate. Usually Vice President ial debates are not so much about the two Vice President ial candidates although they are trying to credential eyes themselves as plausible president s and Vice President s. Primarily onfocus the competing president ial candidates. This debatek that for a number of reasons including the president s covid19 positive test in this instance, there may be more focused on the two Vice President ial candidates. Host the Vice President ial debate, usually the