Chair clyburn good afternoon. The committee will come to order. With out objection, the chair has authorized to declare a recess for the committee at any time. For anecognize myself opening statement. This morning, we heard the president in his own words, recorded in february, described the coronavirus as deadly stuff. Recordingo heard a from march, in which he admitted quoted again i wanted to always play it down. I still like playing it down because i dont want to create a panic. DidTrump Administration play down the pandemic, refusing to level with the American People about the known danger and refusing to develop and implement a National Plan to stop the spread. As a result, more than 190,000 and thes have died coronavirus is continuing to kill hundreds and in fact tens of thousands every day. Weeks,e next eight americans will be casting their votes in the midst of this ongoing crisis. Holding a free, fair, and safe election under these circumstances is a challenge. But let there be no doubt, if we all do our part, america is up to the challenge. June, the center for Disease Control and prevention issued simple, clear guidance to keep people healthy while casting their votes. Of fundamental principle this guidance is, and i quote reducing the number of voters who congregate indoors, in polling locations at the same time. Includes threee key elements. First, cdc calls for, and i quote, alternatives to in person voting. That includes voting by mail and drop boxes to safely collect ballots. For,d, the cdc calls quoted again, increasing the number of polling locations available for early voting and extending the hours of operation. That, cdc recommends election administrators, quoting increase theain or number of polling places available to the public on election day. These simple steps are achievable everywhere in america, and i am pleased that many state and local officials, both democrats and republicans, have made progress in implementing them. Unfortunately, not every jurisdiction is following the cdcs guidance. The consequences of this refusal are predict people. We saw what happened in this years primary elections in states that reduce the number of polling places and did not have adequate alternatives to in person voting. Voters waited up to five hours to cast their ballots. In texas, voters endured lines up to seven hours long. In wisconsins largest city, largest city, milwaukee, 97 of polling places were closed, leading to long lines for the cities voters. Florida, 112 polling places across the state were closed, moved, or consolidated. Voters,tions left many especially people of color, unable to exercise their right to vote. We cannot allow the pandemic to be used as a cover to continue or exacerbate the ugly history of Voter Suppression. Select subcommittee launched an investigation to whereine the states primary voters face significant measures have made necessary improvements for the general election. Today, we are issuing a staff report with some troubling findings that must be corrected. I ask unanimous consent that this report be entered into the objections,without so ordered. Texas, local elected warned that voters could be waiting in line for hours on election day and reported that not having enough poll workers is their primary concern for the election. Refusal to expand absentee voting, it is crucial that texas take steps now to recruit poll workers rather than resorting to closing polling places and reducing hours. Georgia is making the puzzling absenteet to mail out ballot applications to all voters for the general election after successfully doing so for the primary. Georges secretary of state has claimed mailing out applications to all voters would lead to longer lines at the polls. But the reality is just the opposite. Who cast an absentee will not a voter who be in line at the polls. State to follow this cdc guidelines so that all voters can cast their vote safely. The federal government also has a crucial role to play. The heroes act that the house packed house past four months ago includes 3. 6 billion to get states and local governments the equipment and staff to safely administer the election. Republicans should agree to allocate these funds without further delay. The delivery for america act which was passed last month in the house, requires election mail be treated as firstclass, restores mail service to previous levels, and provides 25 billion as unanimously requested by the bipartisan Postal Service board of governors. Unfortunately, rather than play a constructive role in preparing for the election, the Trump Administration has sown discord, fear, and confusion. Is plain it has been made plain that they have said it is plain that it would lead to voter fraud, even though it is more likely that americans would commit voter fraud by mail. There is good reason the president has been unable to provide evidence to support his claim. There is none. Safe andoting is secure. Ginsberg, a leading republican lawyer agrees. Todaysed in Washington Post and titled republicans dont have the evidence to call elections rigged. He writes the truth is that after decades of looking for illegal voting, there is no proof of widespread fraud. At most, there are isolated incidents by both democrats and republicans. Elections are not rigged. Absentee ballots use the same process as mailin ballots. Different states use different labels for the same process. End of his quote. Now warning against fraud, the president is calling on his supporters to vote twice. Saying voters and i quote send them in early and then go out and vote, and of quote. I hope all my colleagues here will join me and mr. Ginsberg in rejecting that advice and urging americans to follow the law and vote only once. Supporting a free, fair, and safe election should not be a partisan issue. And i am hopeful that we can use todays hearings to agree on Common Sense Solutions to their safericans and grit and their sacred right to vote. I will now yield to my friend, the english Ranking Member, for his opening remarks. You, mr. Chairman. I appreciate you having this hearing and appreciate our witnesses being here. I would like to start by sending my prayers and support to the people of southwest louisiana, including lake charles, who are still recovering from the devastation of hurricane laura. I personally went and witnessed this, met with local officials along with President Trump. They have a long way to go, everybody is standing with them and we will continue to stand with those strong, resilient people in southwest louisiana to help as they rebuild their homes and communities. Letsyou and with that, talk about todays hearing. Let me first the clear every american legally eligible to vote will have that opportunity on november 3 and is strongly encouraged to exercise their right to vote as well. Each state runs their elections, as we know, and it is our duty to ensure our elections are unfairly, freely, and safely. One of the ways we must protect every americans right to vote is to ensure the integrity of their vote, to make sure that integrity is preserved by rooting out voter fraud, which is well documented. We must also ensure every american who wants to safely vote in person will have that right. I urge all members on a bipartisan basis to convey that message to the American People. The 2020 elections will be conducted safely, freely, and fairly and we urge all those who are eligible to participate. Into this covid19 pandemic, the American People have reminded the world about what it means to be an american. Our Constitutional Rights sacred. A pandemic will not stand in the way of americans exercising our First Amendment rights. Americans still have the right to peaceably assemble and peacefully protest. Americans must also have the ability to exercise our religious freedom and the right to worship as we believe. As with previous pandemics, like the spanish flu of 1918 or military wars, or times of unrest, america will confidently go to the polls in november. Ive spent a good part of august traveling the country and talking with voters, republicans, democrats, independents, libertarians. Americans are ready and they are motivated to vote. They deserve to hear from leaders in both parties that the elections will be held safely and fairly. Instead of urging losing candidates to refuse to concede, which unfortunately we have heard recently as some are suggesting, or trying to change laws in ways that would drag out the result for weeks and weeks after Election Night, we need to ensure state laws which have been debated and honed over years are respected and allowed to be implemented fairly and efficiently. What people do not want to hear is one Political Party attempting to take advantage of a pandemic to try to ram through their partisan election scheme that has nothing at all to do with this coronavirus. Lets listen to the experts and lets follow the science. The unanimous opinion of our Top Public Health expert is that in posen in person voting can be done safely. People could go safely to vote in person during this pandemic, dr. Fauci said, and i quote i think if carefully done, according to the guidelines, theres no reason i can see why that would not be the case. Theres no reason we shouldnt be able to vote in person or otherwise. On august 20, the center for Disease Control and prevention director, dr. Robert redfield, announced the cdc put out guidance on how to safely vote in person. Stated people can social distance and wear masks, and with the recommendations we have for hygiene, we do not see there is going to be a negative impact on your ability to vote from a Public Health perspective. I know im going to vote face to face. 22,n interview on august dr. Deborah birx said i can tell you it has been safe for me to go to starbucks and pick up my order, so if you can go into starbucks in the middle of texas and alabama and mississippi that have very high case rates, then i cant say it would be different waiting in line in the polls. A recent report from the Brennan Center for justice says in person voting can be conducted safely if jurisdictions take the necessary step to minimize the risk of transmission of covid19 to voters and election workers. I hope all of my colleagues will take the opportunity to highlight cdcs guidance for safe, in person voting. Cdc put out these really good guidelines showing you how to safely do this, just like safely going to school. You can educate people in person, some are choosing to do it, some are choosing to deny those kids that opportunity and we have talked about this and that talked about that in this committee will stop i would urge we follow the guidelines for safely voting in person. There are a lot of options, you can request a mailin ballot, you can vote early, or you can go vote in person, as many want to do. We ought to be promoting those guidelines. Examples cdcof the put out. Ensure publications are adequately staffed to cover sick workers. Provide Hand Sanitizer for use at each step in the voting process. Encourage voters to use masks while in the polling location. Here is mine you will appreciate the colors. I will send you one extra i know youve got one of your own. Post signs in highly visible locations that promote everyday protective measures remind voters to leave space between themselves and others. Toe plans to manage lines ensure social distancing. These are in those guidelines and if we follow those, you can safely vote in person. Of march,beginning when President Trump declared a National Emergency due to the pandemic, 37 different states plus the district of columbia have successfully held statewide primaries for president or their own state office. I personally voted into different elections we have had in last few months in the state of louisiana. I did it in person. It was a safe experience. I brought my son with me as i normally do. We ring our children with the so they can see this great democratic process and there was never a worry. I wore my mask, so did the poll workers, it was a very smooth process. I would encourage people to do that. Wisconsin held a very successful election at the height of the pandemic on april 7. A peerreviewed study published the american journal of that inealth concluded voting in wisconsins election by more than 400,000 did not produce a detectable surgeon coronavirus cases. America is ready to go vote. Many states vote absentee ballot or request mail ballots. These procedures have been in place for each state that does it. They all handle it a little differently, but those have been worked through years so they know how to do it properly, safely, efficiently. We should inspire confidence in. Hose procedures there is simply no todemicrelated reason change the way we vote in 2020. Given the topic of todays hearing, ensuring a free, fair, and safe election during the corona pandemic, we can stop right there. We know how to do it. States are doing it. We should help them do it. But our democrat colleagues do not want to join with us to send that bipartisan message. They want to go back to thisg a bill, hr one is something democrats have been promoting since last year, long doese this pandemic, that all kinds of things to mandate states change the way most of them do business, requiring things most states dont want to do, havent done because they make elections less safe. They reduce the integrity of elections. Mandate ballots be registered be mailed to all registered voters. That, as i outlined, is dangerous. A review by Judicial Watch in early 2020 found 370 eight different counties nationwide have more registered voters than voting age citizens. 378 counties. That is millions of ballots that would be out there illegally. Who knows what would happen with them . That is a staggering number. Counties have more registered voters on their roles than voting age citizens. And people say theres no opportunity for voter fraud. More than 28 million mailin ballots went missing. Went missing and the last four elections according to Data Collected from the election assistance commission, the federal commission that identifies more than 28 million ballots that have just gone missing. Who knows where they end up . If they end up in a ballot box, as we sign other states where weeks and weeks after the election, they were still counting votes. They just kept mysteriously showing up until it changed the outcome of an election. Do we really want to go to that level where there are millions of ballots, 28 million ballots that literally went missing. Those are staggering numbers we should be concerned about as we want to promote fair, free, safe elections. That is what we should be focused on. We dont want a recipe for disaster where we literally would be counting ballots weeks and weeks later that would be showing up from who knows where as we saw in states, we sought in florida, we thought in california, in new jersey, people are going to jail for voter fraud. In the end, why dont we put our focus on helping the states conduct their efficient, free, and safe elections for all americans who are legally eligible to vote. I look forward to hearing from our witnesses. I yelled back. Chair clyburn i think the Ranking Member for yielding back. And now i would like to introduce our witnesses. We first welcome kerry washington. Levels,vism spans many serving as a cochair of the Nonprofit Organization, when we all vote and producing the document he inside look legal battles for civil rights to work at the ground level. To encourage voters to cast their ballot. Havee also honored to kristin clark, president and director of a committee for civil rights under the law. We are also grateful to be by the president of the texas civil rights project. By a thejoined assistant professor of medicine at the medical university of South Carolina. The Global Health committee of the Infectious Disease society of america. She was one of the primary forors of the guidelines healthy, in person voting. Havei understand you recently joined the faculty at the university of South Carolina, so im pleased to welcome you to charleston and the sixth congressional district. Finally, im pleased to introduce the missouri secretary of state, js croft. Welcome, secretary. Unmutedsses will be so we can swear the men. Fascists swear them in. Please raise your right hands. Stopear them in please swear that what you are to is the truth, the whole truth. Showhem let the record the witnesses answered in the affirmative. Without objection, your written statements will be made part of the record. Thank you. We will now turn to ms. Washington. You are now recognized. You,ashington thank chairman clyburn, Ranking Member scullys command members of the select subcommittee. Im grateful for you taking the time to hear my testimony and the testimony of my fellow witnesses. Im here not as an artist or entertainer, but as an american and an advocate who believes deeply in the power of voting. That is the reason i became the cochair of when we all vote, a nonpartisan, Nonprofit Organization dedicated to increasing participation in every election and its why im here today. When i turned 18, my mother and father took me out to dinner in the bronx, where i grew up, not just to celebrate my birthday, but to celebrate the fact i was old enough to vote. My parents never took their vote for granted. They believe it is a sacred obligation and it is. Not too long ago, an 18yearold black woman would not have been able to vote for many reasons. As you know, the legal age of voting used to be 21 years old, so you could get shipped off to war without having any say in who your commanderinchief is. As you know, women were denied the vote. We only just celebrated our 100th anniversary of women earning that right. And of course, it