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Combatting Misinformation in the 2020 Election Hearing Subcommittee on Elections Comm

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Combatting Misinformation in the 2020 Election Hearing Subcommittee on Elections Comm VOTING RIGHTS AND ELECTION ADMINISTRATION: COMBATTING MISINFORMATION IN THE 2020 ELECTION HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS OF THE COMMITTEE ON HOUSE ADMINISTRATION HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION OCTOBER 6, 2020 Printed for the use of the Committee on House Administration ( Available on the Internet: http://www.gpoinfo.gov/committee/house-administration U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 42–741 WASHINGTON : 2021 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:14 May 06, 2021 Jkt 042741 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 E:\HR\OC\A741.XXX A741 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with HEARING COMMITTEE ON HOUSE ADMINISTRATION ZOE LOFGREN, California, Chairperson JAMIE RASKIN, Maryland RODNEY DAVIS, Illinois, Ranking Member SUSAN A. DAVIS, California MARK WALKER, North Carolina G. K. BUTTERFIELD, North Carolina BARRY LOUDERMILK, Georgia MARCIA L. FUDGE, Ohio PETE AGUILAR, California (II) VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:14 May 06, 2021 Jkt 042741 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 E:\HR\OC\A741.XXX A741 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with HEARING C O N T E N T S OCTOBER 6, 2020 Page Voting Rights and Election Administration: Combatting Misinformation in the 2020 Election ................................................................................................. 00 OPENING STATEMENTS Chairwoman Marcia L. Fudge ................................................................................ 00 Prepared statement of Chairperson Lofgren .................................................. 00 Prepared statement of Ranking Member Davis ............................................. 00 WITNESSES Hon. Benjamin Hovland, Commissioner, U.S. Election Assistance Commis- sion ........................................................................................................................ 00 Prepared statement of Hon. Hovland ............................................................. 00 Hon. Jena Griswold, Secretary of State, State of Colorado .................................. 00 Prepared statement of Hon. Griswold ............................................................ 00 Ms. Inajo Davis Chappell, Member, Board of Elections, Cuyahoga County, Ohio ....................................................................................................................... 00 Prepared statement of Ms. Chappell .............................................................. 00 Mr. Spencer Overton, President, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies .................................................................................................................. 00 Prepared statement of Mr. Overton ................................................................ 00 QUESTIONS FOR THE RECORD Hon. Benjamin Hovland, Commissioner, U.S. Election Assistance Commission answers to submitted questions .......................................................................... 00 Hon. Jena Griswold, Secretary of State, State of Colorado, answers to sub- mitted questions ................................................................................................... 00 Ms. Inajo Davis Chappell, Member, Board of Elections, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, answers to submitted questions ................................................................ 00 Mr. Spencer Overton, President, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, answers to submitted questions ........................................................... 00 SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD Article, The Kremlin’s Plot Against Democracy: How Russia Updated Its 2016 Playbook for 2020, by Alina Polyakova, Foreign Affairs, September/ October 2020 ......................................................................................................... 00 Article, What We Know About Alleged Efforts by Trump’s 2016 Campaign to Suppress Black Votes, Washington Post, September 29, 2020 .................... 00 Mythbusters, Cuyahoga County Board of Elections (submitted by Ms. Chap- pell) ........................................................................................................................ 00 (III) VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:14 May 06, 2021 Jkt 042741 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 E:\HR\OC\A741.XXX A741 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with HEARING VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:14 May 06, 2021 Jkt 042741 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 E:\HR\OC\A741.XXX A741 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with HEARING VOTING RIGHTS AND ELECTION ADMINISTRA- TION: COMBATTING MISINFORMATION IN THE 2020 ELECTION TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2020 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS, COMMITTEE ON HOUSE ADMINISTRATION, Washington, DC. The Subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 1:00 p.m., via Webex, Hon. Marcia L. Fudge [Chair of the Subcommittee] presiding. Present: Representatives Fudge, Lofgren, Aguilar, Butterfield, and Raskin. Staff Present: Jamie Fleet, Staff Director; David Tucker, Senior Counsel and Parliamentarian; Peter Whippy, Communications Di- rector; Natalie Young, Press Secretary; Stephen Spaulding, Senior Elections Counsel; Sarah Nasta, Elections Counsel; Kulani Jalata, Elections Counsel; Georgina Cannan, Elections Counsel; Daniel Taylor, General Counsel; and Brandon Jacobs, Legislative Clerk. Chairwoman FUDGE. The Subcommittee on Elections of the Com- mittee on House Administration will come to order. I am happy to announce that we are joined today by Congress- man Butterfield from North Carolina, Mr. Aguilar from California, and Mr. Raskin from Maryland. As we begin, I want to note, we are holding this hearing in com- pliance with the regulations for remote committee proceedings pur- suant to House Resolution 965. Generally, the Committee will keep microphones muted to limit background noise. Members will need to unmute themselves when seeking recognition or when recognized for their five minutes. Wit- nesses will need to unmute themselves when recognized for their five minutes or when answering a question. Members and witnesses, please keep your camera on at all times. Even if you need to step away for a moment, do not leave the meet- ing. At this time, I ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and that any written statements be made part of the record. Hearing no objections, so ordered. Today, we are examining misinformation in the 2020 election, how the spread of false information harms voters, and what can be done to combat this and ensure Americans go to the polls armed with accurate information. (1) VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:14 May 06, 2021 Jkt 042741 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\A741.XXX A741 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with HEARING 2 This year, we cannot discuss election misinformation without also recognizing the persistent misinformation being spread about the ongoing COVID–19 pandemic. Americans need accurate infor- mation about how to cast their ballot, about the pandemic, and, im- portantly, accurate information on how to cast their ballot in a manner that protects their health. Election day may be four weeks from today, but voting is already well underway. Overseas and military ballots were sent out to thousands of voters a few weeks ago. Absentee ballots can be re- quested now and returned in the weeks ahead. More than 30 States are already mailing ballots to voters. Early in-person voting began in many States over the last two weeks, and more will do so in the days and weeks ahead. In fact, early voting begins in Ohio today. The American people are voting and will be voting now through November 3. And, during all of this, the President and others are waging an insidious campaign to sow distrust in our electoral proc- ess by spreading false claims that vote-by-mail is rife with fraud, making unsubstantiated claims the election will be rigged, encour- aging people to vote twice, which is illegal and immoral. Additionally, U.S. intelligence agencies warn that Russia has continued its disinformation campaign and attempts to interfere in our election. In 2016, no group of Americans were targeted more by Russian Internet Research Agency disinformation than African Americans. The American people deserve the truth. They deserve an election free from the real fraud of false information and voter suppression. The truth is, millions of Americans, including the President and members of his administration, cast a ballot by mail every election cycle with exceedingly rare instances of fraud. The truth is, as significantly more Americans prepare to cast their ballot from home this year than ever before, the American people must be prepared that we may not know the winner of the election on the night of November 3 and that this does not mean anything is wrong with the election. Election night results are never final results. Many States take days, if not weeks, to for- mally certify their election results. Many States also allow ballots that were mailed on election day but received in the days after to be counted. The truth is that there is nothing nefarious; it is simply about counting ballots. The count must be accurate, and that takes time. Every validly cast vote should count. That is democracy. Votes mailed on election day are votes cast on election day, and we should count them, not spread fear and lie about a rigged election. The misinformation being spread in the lead-up to this year’s election is a disservice to voters and a danger to our democracy and our democratic institutions. The House passed the SHIELD Act in October 2019, which would address the spread of misinformation, including prohibiting the
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