WASHINGTON - House Democrats are fractured on election security. While Committee on House Administration majority put forth the partisan election security bill, H.R. 2722, soon-to-be marked-up at Rules Committee this evening, others are calling for their caucus to look at bipartisan election security legislation.

Calls for Bipartisanship from Democrats:

"Time is running out for Congress to secure our elections and deter our adversaries from attempting to interfere in the 2020 election," said Rep. Tom O’Halleran (D-AZ-01), Blue Dog Co-Chair for Policy, in a release. "The only way we will be able to resolve this issue before the 2020 election process begins is by pursuing bipartisan solutions that can pass a Democratic-led House, a Republican-led Senate, and get to President Trump’s desk for a signature."

In the same release, Co-Chair of the Blue Dog Task Force on National Security, Rep. Jeff Van Drew (D-NJ-02) said, “Election security is the first step to having free, fair, and open elections. It is time for Congress to work together to come up with a bipartisan solution to election interference."

"The fact is that Russian interference in our elections is the one thing there’s consensus around, and so we should work in a bipartisan way,” said Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL-07), co-chair of the Blue Dog Coalition, to Politico.

“In choosing to make it bipartisan, we’re hopeful people will recognize this is a legitimate problem we’re trying to address in a measured, bipartisan, and solutions-focused endeavor,” said Rep. Abigail Davis Spanberger (D-VA-07), according to The Daily Beast.

The Democrats' H.R. 2722, the SAFE Act:
The Democrats' partisan bill is federalizing elections through:

Mandatory Paper Ballots – This bill mandates that states exclusively use paper ballots, effectively banning any type of direct recording electronic (DRE) voting machines. To learn more about the many issues with paper ballots, CLICK HERE.

Federally Mandated Manual Hand Recounts – H.R. 2722 would result in significantly more manual hand recounts of paper ballots. Voters want results at the end of an Election Day. Manual recount requirements will result in longer, drawn out elections that are extremely expensive and may takes weeks, if not months, to reach a decision.

Irresponsible Funding Commitment – The funding of elections is the primary responsibility of the states. Democrats are blindly committing $1.3 billion over the course of 10 years in their partisan bill. The Republican solution, the Election Security Assistance Act, provides $380 million in grants in preparation for the 2020 presidential election. Additionally, there is a 25% funding match requirement from states, which forces states receiving federal funds to have their own skin- in-the-game.

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