WASHINGTON - Top Republican on the Committee on House Administration with jurisdiction over federal election policy in the House, Ranking Member Rodney Davis (IL-13) spoke at the Legislative Conference for the National Association of Counties (NACo). Following Illinois' recent issues with automatic voter registration, recent changes to California registration and voting procedure, and the Iowa Caucus app debacle, Ranking Member Davis spoke on the important role county election officials play in administering elections and the need to update safeguards for new election technology.

His most recent election security bill, H.R. 5707: Protect American Voters Act (PAVA) addresses the imminent need for testing guidelines for non-voting election equipment that remains vulnerable to foreign interference, like voter registration databases and other newer technology not previously addressed by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA).

Read below to view the Ranking Member's remarks as prepared:

Thank you for having me here today on Super Tuesday at the National Association of Counties' 2020 Legislative Conference - It is an honor to be able to highlight the fundamental role counties play in the election process. That's where our nation's elections are run. State and local election officials have the most important position when it comes to making sure our elections are administered securely and with integrity.

I'm happy to be here on Super Tuesday, as several primary elections across the country are kicking off. Many will be looking at state, county, and local election administrators today, specifically at the security and integrity of the elections they are running. Since becoming Ranking Member of the House Administration Committee, which oversees federal elections, my priority has been to advocate for county and local election officials who diligently persist to administer safe and secure elections, like we saw in the 2018 midterms.

The House Administration Committee has held three markups of election policies and five election-related hearings, including a hearing recently in January with voting machine vendor CEO's and election administrators.
I invited my hometown County Clerk, Mike Gianasi from Christian County, to testify during that hearing to share how he was able to run a secure election in 2018 and highlight the work being done by county officials.

This Congress I have introduced two election security bills – H.R. 3412: The Election Security Assistance Act and H.R. 4736: The Honest Elections Act – both take aim at addressing the types of interference we actually saw from Russia in 2016. The focus of my legislation is on assisting states in bolstering their election security efforts without federally mandating how they should administer their own elections. Each state has unique needs, and county officials know those needs best.

This past December, Congress passed the FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which contained election security provisions – including providing Congress, federal, or state agencies with information about election interference and requiring the Director of National Intelligence, in coordination with several agencies, to develop a strategy for countering cyberattacks against U.S. elections. These provisions, which are similar to what was in my own policy, are essential in preparing state and local election officials to prevent election interference.

Congress also provided states $425 million in Help America Vote Act or HAVA grants for increasing election security efforts. These resources from Congress play a critical part in helping states and counties update outdated election technology and increase security efforts.

Last year, our committee marked-up three major election bills that later passed the House – H.R. 1, the SAFE Act, and SHIELD Act. While this legislation took aim at securing elections, I felt these efforts were one-sided by my Democratic colleagues who support federalizing the election process. Again, I adamantly believe that the federal government has a role in assisting states, but we should leave states in charge of administering their own elections.

Instead of telling counties what to do, we need to assist you all in securing more modern voting and election administration methods – like non-voting election equipment, which should be tested and vetted in a similar manner to vote-tallying machines.

That's why I drafted H.R. 5707: Protect American Voters Act or PAVA. PAVA makes critical updates to HAVA addressing non-voting election technology, such as: Electronic pollbooks, election night reporting systems, electronic ballot delivery systems, and other non-voting election equipment.

PAVA also has a program that will mirror the Cyber Navigator Program, a program from my home state of Illinois that provides smaller counties with the IT support they need to fight against cyber intrusions. Many counties don't have dedicated IT professional staff to assist the election official. That's why this program is so important in securing elections.

This non-voting technology PAVA looks to protect is what was the most vulnerable to foreign interference in 2016. We just held a listening session in my District about issues that my state has had implementing non-voting technology, like Automatic Voter Registration. We learned that programs like these require intensive testing and safeguarding measures before implementation.

Also, we must communicate. There should be open and transparent communication between state/local election officials and the federal government to ensure our election processes are running smoothly and efficiently.

At the end of the day, our role in the federal government is to ensure that counties have every resource they need to administer their elections. Americans need to feel confident that their voter information will be protected and that their vote will be counted. I hope to be able to continue making efforts toward this goal. We do that by working together, from the local level, to state, to federal.

Thank you for all you do to keep our elections running smoothly and thank you again for having me today. I look forward to more of these important discussions.

Read more about H.R. 5707: Protect American Voters Act (PAVA) by clicking here.

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