Washington, D.C. – Committee on House Administration Ranking Member Rodney Davis (IL-13) introduced the Election Fraud Prevention Act to eliminate the practice of ballot harvesting – when any individual can pick up any voter's ballot for any reason and deliver it to the polling location completely unchecked. H.R. 6882 will amend the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) to prohibit funds disbursed through the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) from going to states that allow ballot harvesting by any individual and in unlimited amounts while allowing for common-sense exceptions such as election officials, employees of the U.S. Postal Service, family members of the voter, household members of the voter, and caregivers of the voter to deliver the ballots of those truly in need.

House Democrats are using the coronavirus pandemic to nationalize ballot harvesting in their political wish list, the HEROES Act. Now, more than ever, we must protect the integrity of our ballots, and we do that by eliminating one of the greatest threats to our elections: ballot harvesting.

"We cannot allow politics to interfere with the integrity of our electoral process. Ballot harvesting, in the way House Democrats are trying to nationalize, allows any individual to pick up any voter's ballot for any reason and deliver it to the polling location, completely unchecked. This 'coronavirus relief' bill from House Democrats would actually jeopardize public health by allowing 'ballot brokers' to go door to door with a blatant disregard for social distancing guidelines. Not to mention, allowing political operatives to pick up ballots is unnecessary when mail ballots already have pre-paid postage," said Ranking Member Davis. "One can only assume this push for ballot harvesting in the middle of a pandemic is simply for political gain. My bill will ensure that this unlimited ballot harvesting practice, which we've seen lead to abuse and fraud, is stopped. I urge my Democratic colleagues to put politics aside, stop using a national emergency to push their own agenda, and protect our elections."

Original Cosponsors on Rep. Davis' Election Fraud Prevention Act:
Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (CA-23)
Republican Whip Steve Scalise (LA-01)
Rep. Devin Nunes (CA-22)
Rep. Ken Calvert (CA-42)
Rep. Tom McClintock (CA-04)
Rep. Doug LaMalfa (CA-01)
Rep. Paul Cook (CA-08)
Rep. Mark Walker (NC-06)
Rep. Barry Loudermilk (GA-11)

Click here to read H.R. 6882: Election Fraud Prevention Act

Background:
Yesterday, House Administration Committee Republicans introduced a report exposing the political weaponization of ballot harvesting in California. The committee examines the use of ballot harvesting in the 2018 Midterm Congressional Elections. Specifically, the report looks at two states: North Carolina, which overturned an election because of the fraud associated with ballot harvesting, and California, which maximized and politically weaponized its use in 2018. The report highlights the fraud and abuse associated with ballot harvesting.

Click here to view the report.
Click here for a document summarizing the report.

The Committee on House Administration and its Subcommittee on Elections are responsible for all matters related to election law and are charged with investigating election irregularities. The Committee Republicans have worked over the last 18 months to bring awareness to potentially the greatest threat to ballot integrity in this country: ballot harvesting. Our goal remains to prevent this practice, which jeopardizes the integrity of our electoral process and disenfranchises voters.

Visit the Committee on House Administration Republicans Website for more information.

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