House Administration Committee Hearing on Voter Roll Maintenance and Election Security

Voter List Maintenance and Election Integrity

• 🎯 Voter list maintenance is crucial for election integrity, involving adding new voters and removing ineligible ones (deceased, relocated, duplicate registrants).
• ⚠️ Inaccurate voter rolls can lead to mail-in ballots being sent to outdated addresses, posing a risk of illegal voting.
• 🏛️ While states are primarily responsible for list maintenance, federal laws like the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) include requirements, though current interpretations by courts have set a low standard for compliance.

Challenges with NVRA and Court Interpretations

• ⚖️ Federal courts have interpreted the NVRA's "reasonable effort" standard to mean that the mere existence of a program matters, not its effectiveness.
• 📉 This has led to situations where states can largely avoid properly maintaining voter rolls, with litigation showing judges consider minimal maintenance compliant.
• 🔍 Examples include Michigan having thousands of dead registrants on active roles and Illinois counties failing to disclose any voter maintenance data.

Data Sharing and Citizenship Verification

• 🤝 States can improve list maintenance by exchanging accurate and timely data, with some states entering into MOUs for voter data exchange.
• 🇺🇸 Ensuring only US citizens vote is critical, and states can utilize federal citizenship verification resources like those from US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
• 💡 Commercial credit data is also suggested as a valuable tool for states to clean voter rolls more effectively.

Personal Testimony and Concerns

• 📌 Mary Kay Hailing shared her experience of being incorrectly targeted for voter list removal in North Carolina, highlighting the frustration and time-consuming process of rectifying such errors.
• 🗳️ Concerns were raised about the impact of NVRA's 90-day blackout period before federal elections, which can freeze list maintenance and potentially affect the removal of ineligible voters.
• ⚖️ The discussion also touched upon the erosion of consensus on the need for clean voter rolls, with differing perspectives on how to balance list maintenance with ensuring all eligible voters can cast their ballot.

Proposed Solutions and Future Considerations

• 🛠️ Congress could fix issues with the NVRA by clarifying standards, potentially expanding its scope to include non-citizens, and addressing the restrictive ceiling on removals.
• 🌐 Data sharing between states and utilizing commercial data are recommended as effective methods for improving list accuracy.
• 📊 Transparency in list maintenance activities is vital, allowing for public audits and ensuring accountability.