pck's and live c-spaee mobile app or online at c-span.org. c-span is your unfiltered view of government, we are funded by these television companies and more including charter communications. charter is proud to be recognized as one to have best internet providers and we are just gettingrted building 100,000 miles of new infrastructure to reach those who need it most. >> charter communi public service along with these television providers giving you a front-row seat to democracy. they talk about election worker protection, cybersecurity, voting rights and combating misinformation. the hearing is an hourwq and 45

minutes. [inaudible yes. >> senator fisher andriy dealing with votes going on, back and forth. i call the hearing to order. and good afternoon, i would like to thank ranking member fisher and our colleagues for joining

us our witnesses who i will introduce shortly michigan secretary of state josslyn benson isaac kramer, voter registration and election, janine nelson, president and director of naacp legal defense fund. we will also hear from our other witnesses. i let them last not for any omission but because senator fisher will be introducing them and that includes alabama secretary of state west aen and brian cruz, election commissioner for the douglas county nebraska election, electionon commission. more americans than ever have cast a ballot in recent elections and it is in large part because of the work of state and officials and these elections have run smoothly and top security officials in both republican andtrations

alike, have confirmed the security of recent elections including last week's primary s. 18 states have already held primaries this year, in fact, 3 of our witnesses secretary benson, secretary allen and mr. kramer have overseen primary elections this year already and there are many more to go before the general election in november gincluding 3 states georgia mississippi and washington in which voters are casting ballots today. with voting already underway, we are here to discuss the key issues facing the state and local election officials on the front lines of democracy. one area of particular urgency is artificial intelligence. we have already seen ai can be used to spread disinformation about elections like to fake robo calls using the president's voice tell vote in new hampshire which is now

under investigation by the state's republican attorney general. we must work across the aisle to protect our elections from these threats and all of the witnesses at our hearing last fall agreed we need to put guardrail in place when it comes to ai. you can't even tell it's not the candidate.

we also to in addition to i banning deceptive deep fakes we d also need disclaimers when a circumstances used in other ways. last week i introduced a lisa murkowski to require in ai, whether you're a republicandemocrat voters will know that the use of the technology. we gncer last year in that we don't want't labels to supply to every single thing when ai is used, so we have defined that in a way that i think will pass muster but i cannot emphasize how important i believe it is to also pass the deep fake bill. pi myself call chat gpt or wroteha in a question i should say and asked what about this polling

place in bloomington minnesota they often have lines where they should vote, they answered, i'm making up the answer 1234 elm street. clearly we have work tocerned about that as well. we must tackle issues on. to require the election assistance commission to issue guidelines so election officials are prepared to meet these challenges. six states including my state of minnesota and secretary benson state of michigan have passed new laws to address in elections and more than 3 dozen states have bills pending both red and blue states but we cannot rely on patch work of state laws and congress must act. election workers including volunteers also continue to face a barrage of intimidation. we have heard testimony in this committee from officials from both parties about threats

targ and their families, it is a no surprise that a survey last year found that one in three election officials nsaid that they have been accused, harassed or threatened and one in five said that they know someone who lost their job due to safety concerns. this las a real impact in how elections are run including efforts to recruit poll workers and volunteers. last november more than a dozen anonymous letters some containing fentanyl were sent to election offices in at least six states leading to evacuations and de ballot counting. in addition, it is critical as ever that state and local governments have reliable federal funding to maintain election infrastructure, keep pace with new technology and

combat cybersecurity threats. election security is truly national security and these investments must be prioritized as our intel agencies continue to warn about foreign adversaries trying to infelection. i have heard from officials in red, blue and purple states about the need to get steadyin it comes to election. finally, i will note that many n many states voters continue to face new laws that will make it harder to major hearing on that morning in the judiciary committee with senator warnock launching off the hearing to talk about the john lewis voting right bill andew we also need federal standards like those contained in the freedom to vote in act that i lead along with many of my colleagues including the democrats on this committee.

i want to thank our witnesses for being here and forward to hearing your testimony your work year round to prepare for our elections. i will now turn it over to ranking member >> good afternoon, and thank you chairwoman klobuchar for holding this hearing. thank you to all of our witnesses for being here today. states conduct t elections and one week after super tuesday we will hear from state and local officials from across the country about one of the most fundamental aspects of our democracy. the emergencies of free and fair elections, we look forward to learning how jurisdictions across the country are preparing for the upcoming elections. election is not just a date when voters cast ballots but also the culmination of months of

preparation by state and local election officials to make sured their civic duty and participate in theut democratic process. election officials maintain voter rules, identify polling locations, train poll workers and volunteers to test voting equipment, prepare ballots and educate the public about the upcoming elections. while every four years they step into a brighter spotlight the hard working and dedicated individuals address election administration challenges for every elect of what offices are are on the ballot. on top of defending the cybersecurity and fiscal security of election infrastructure election a officials must recruit and train while also retaining experienced coworkers and also work hard to ensure voter confidence in the

electoral process and the ultimate outcomes of the he election. i'm interested in hearing from our witnesses how they adapt tochanging landscape to ensure election integrity. i also want l to understand not only the challengesleofficials face but whether the existing federal resources are working as intended to ease in those challenges. provided states the primary responsibility of administering elections and election systems is a strength of our democracy. i look forward to a product discussion and extend my sincere appreciation to our witnesses for being here today as they are in the midst ofor the 2024 elections thank you all. >> thank you very much, senator fisher. i will introduce three of the witness and then fisher er and britt will introduce the

remaining two. our first witness is michigan secretary josslyn benson, a role she has held since her election in 2018. previously she served as dean of law school and bachelor's degree and law degree from harvard. our next witness is kramer of the vote of voter registration and elections forot charleston county, south carolina where he served for a decade and appointed executive director in 2021. he's the graduate of what college. then we have janet nelson, welcome again, president and director of council of the ncaapun defense fund. she began her career at ldf as an extern and returned to ldf asil and assumed role in march of 2022. she received her bachelor's degree from nyu and her law

degree from university of california los angeles. senator fisher. >> thank you madame a chair. i thank all of the witnesses today. we have with us mr. brian cruz from the great state of nebraska who serves as election commissioner for'v douglcruz has served as douglas county election commissioner since 2016 and was recentlyinted for a third term. i've had the privilege of working with him to serve le nebraska alexei alexei-- nebraskansfor many years we have direct flights, thank you. [laughter] >> thank you madame chairman. ranking member fisher for your continued leadership on this committee. it is a pleasure to introduce secretary alan today west alan a ate where he's our state chief election official. hired as election to current

office secretary allen spent nearly a alabama probate judge which is the county senior election official. he was then elected to thea f representatives where he served as the vice chair of the legislature's constitution campaign and election committees. i know that secretary allen is honored to appear before the committee and offer knowledge on matters as he'ss made it his mission to make it easy to vote in safe and secure elections thank you for being here. >> thank you very much. if the witnesses will now please stand and raise the right hand. do youar that the testimony -- i will givee you a second. do you swear that the testimony you will give before the committee shall be the truth the whole truth and n truth so help you god? >> i do. >> thank you. you may be seated. you y will now proceed and will recognize you each for five minute statement starting with secretary benson and senator i will leave for vote at some

point. secretary benson. >> thank you, chair klobuchar, ranking member fisher and members of the committee it's an honor to be joining youportant hearing. the next eight to eight months ig will define the future of our country and democracy. asr that reality is clear to me every day both as we work to ensure our elections are safe and secure and in our efforts to protect every voter and every election official from the lives, threats and deceptive tactics that continue to play our democracy. it's been a challenging fewyears for us. mitch gene led the use in youth vote turnout citizens are engaged and voting. the number of ways voters canrs participate in the election continue to expand from the right to vote from home to early voting to traditional election day voting places. michigan's experience underscore that is the expansion of options to vote directly leads to higher

voter participation across theio political spectrum in every election. i know the o successes do not tell the wholew story. we go this election cycle expecting bad actors to use mills information, turbo charged through a information to divide deceivehr and to voter participation throughout our country. i'm not just v talking about deep fakes. ai will also make it easier to misl process or even conditions at a polling place. imagine a voter receiving a warning saying there's long lines at a precinct or a not to go or another seeing post, polling location changing because of flooding, all of thes and deter participation. the realities of ai underscore the need for federal investment in our elections. ai introduced level of speed scale and sophistication that is difficult for s under-resourced state agencies to handle on our own. federal funds helptous support

ow cybersecurity infrastructure and do more voter education to address the evolving threat. we also need the department of homeland security and sisa to be more aggressive in identifying and combating threat and notifying local officials states with critical security information helping us ensure voters know what to do, when they encounter deceptive election practices. at the state level in michigan we are doing our part, we've enacted laws to require disclaimers and political advertisements generated from aien and we've made it a crime for anyone to knowingly and deceptively distribute ai generated deep fakes but need you do your part. as u.s. u senator you can protect every voter in the country from harmful effects from deceptive ai generated content by passing elections deceptive ai act. finally, we cannot have a secure democracy if we do not protecturity of the people who protect our democracy. our job as election

administrators increasingly forces us to endure harassment, false and malicious attacks on our character and threats of violence all because of lies of work and our integrity. throughout her neighborhood detroit city clerk janice winfrey was approached by nf a man who told her you are going to pay dearly for your actions in this election. open county elections director joe rosel threatened that he would be hanged for treason these are just a few examples of what the election administrators endure and as misinformation increases so do the threats. we all have a duty to protect the people who protect democracy. in michigan we have made it a state crime to threaten or intimidate official with specific intent withec interfering with the official's duties. this should be a federal crime.

election officials are professionals. we are put voters first and we are firmly re committed to ensuring every citizen could have rightly placed faith in their vote and in our highest priority to ensure we have the funding, the resources and the legal protections to make democracy work everyone because ensuring our security is critical to ensuring election security. i've spent my year defending -- i've defending the right to vote of every eligible citizen that commitment has never waived and it will not waiver now. i'm here today t ask you all to share that commitment and help us ensure we are protected so democracy continues to thrive this year and every year. thank you. >> thank you so much, secretary.o secretary allen. you. good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, i appreciate the opportunity to speak to you today about election security. as alabama secretary of state iit rve as the state's chief election official and work

closely with the probate judges, circuit clerksl workers boards of registrars who are all an integral part and i paid it top priority to ensure that our elections are fair and secure so that every eligible voter who wishes to cast a vote in any election in our state could do so with confidence knowing that their vote would be properly tcounted. elections are the bedrock of our constitutional republic and it is my constitutional duty to ensure our elections areco conducted with integrity honest accuracy. voter registration and voter file maintenance are the foundation of election integrity. registered voters can choose to participate in elections in alabama with the confidence that our elections process is fair and secure because alabama has taken steps solid steps in ourau ensure election

integrity. poses, my office will send som to the location of their choice, even their home, to issue them a voter i.d. upon request. proper voter file maintenance is a preserving confidence in elections. just this year with the help of the dedicated team of the office of secretary of state is to establish the alabama voter integrity data base. first time in our state's history we have been approved to directly cross check our voter file with the master index maintained by the social security administration so when an alabama voter dies in another state, we are able to identify and remove that individual from our voter file. quickly removing and from our voter file will allow us to maintain a more accurate voter

file. every state should be able to do this and excessive federal regulations will make it more difficult than what it should be for states you as members of the united states senate can remove obstacles and make this information immediately available to every secretary of state in the country. abbott also enablestous work with the alabama law enforcement agency to receive notifications of alabama license drivers over the age of 18 who have received a driver's license in another state, additionally by comparing the national change of address database maintained by the united states postal service to our voter file we identified registered alabama voters who have requested to have their mail forwarded due to moving location outside of the state. for the first time we have entered into agreements allowing us to identify people who arell registered to in--alabama and voter

state. to date we have identified 109,709 alabama voters who have likely relocated outside of the state but unlike deceased voters weannot remove them from the alabama voter file. the registration act of 1993 alson known as nvra mandate that is we wait four years to make such removal. if i can make a recommendation to this body to increase confidence in our elections it would be to shorten the 4-year waiting period mandated ho especially considered the fact that state to state movers9% all relocations across u.s. census bureau, the four-year waiting u. period allows an individual to remain in voter file in which they know longer live for several elections including a presidential election a u.s. senate election, gubernatorial election two congressional elections and numerous local elections,s, four years quite

frankly is too long. this federal law requires secretaries of state to knowingly maintain bloated inaccura voter list, amending they mvra shorten waiting period but certainly increasing voter confidence, decrease voter files and result in more accurate voter files across the country. again, thank you for your time, it's been an honor and privilege to appear before youay thank you. >> thank you very much h y secretary. mr. kramer. >> chairwoman klobuchar and ranking member fisher and members of the committee. i want to thank you for having me here today as mentioned i'm executive director of charleston county board of directors but also privilege of serving as vice chair for a subcommittee for national association ofhe counties as member of the united states election assistance commission board of advisers. i cann overstate the significance of the county io perspective in any topic involving election administration. we are the frontline workers responsible for ensuring smooth

elections by my journey is personal to me. rooted in my mother's dream of becoming u.s. when i was a child. i am hereore you because of her hard work and o determination and as we stand in threshold of another crucial election cyct'lection administrators to draw from the lessons of the past to strengthen the foundation of our democracy for the future. en we reflect on the preparations for this upcoming year in charleston county our main concerns resolve around three pivotal needs and these are crucial, protection of election officials the security of our polling places and the assurance of adequate federal funding. the safety and w ourl election personnel is at the heart of operational concerns. during the june 2022 primaries

our polling places bome battlegrounds for these disruptive elements to the democratic process. a local group travel today each polling place on election day they harassed our poll workers they claimed we were breaking the law and at several locations they actually called law enforcement to arrest our poll be clear south carolina -- south carolina law does not allow us to have law enforcement enter polling place unless they've been summoned by the majority of poll workers. and then one of the leaders on social media posted this, for all of you on the team tomorrow observing the hunting, you knowhe what you're looking for. we have the enemy on the back foot, press the attack forward. the enemies he's referring to were his neighbors. good people who are just trying to carry out the duty, their civic duty of the democratic process and as our lead poll manager return on that night .many of them express today me personally they felt

we hosted our first ever security workshop last year and we created a law enforcement guide that we give to all our law enforcement partners so they know what they do call on electionw day. charleston county has made substantial investments to the election process through building upgrades, giving us access control mechanisms that are imperative to mitigate any potential threats in election operations however, i want to say this clear not every county can make similar investments. numerous counties in south carolina rural and urban n infusion of federal founds improve the security of theiral election infrastructure and

that's very vital to the security of oureral states that does not pass grant money to the county level. this needs to chang congress needs to give us the ability, the counties those funds so we can have a direct access because we are the ones oh run elections day-to-day. this year we have a huge effort to recruit the next generation of poll workers as many of them have left due to threats andstrate that it's possible that counties can apply directly for funding iac donated for college program. up carloston county applied and received $76,000. in addition, we for democracy program which allows county employees to serve on election day, county c employees who participate they also get poll worker pay onith pay. over 15% of pollf workers in 2024 were county employees having trusted public officials serving

as poll workers -- and many poll workers remember a they when elections were simple and they have become more complex and the stakes have never been higher and we need congress' help. you can pass senator klobuchar's on protection, other proposal that is will strengthen safety. we must impose penalties on anybody that would threaten pressure or dock election officials. without increased funding and action to protect election workers counties will county to see increased resignations of careered election officials and struggle to recruit and retain seasonal poll workers in south carolina over 70% of election directors have since 2020. and i'm often asked why am i still in this profession. it's really a simple answer for me.pl i believe in the united states of america and the freedoms we enjoy. i'm able to serve this great country by providing the mechanism by which our country was founded. the ability to give everyone a voice in shaping the future and

direction of our county through voting need support of congress w more than ever to protect and fund our elections. >> very good. thank you, mr. kramer. mr. cruz. >> chairwoman klobuchar and ranking member fisher i appreciate the invitation before the committee this afternoon. my name is brian cruz, doug lose county election commissioner. one of the most important aspects of election administration is trust and fairness in conducting and managing elections. in nebraska we have the gold standard for election administration. onfirst and foremost we use paper ballots. voters receive paper ballot for early voting or election day voting. the tabulating machines that count ballots are never connected to the internet or to each other and these machines are used only after numerous preelection tests following the

election and before results are official as well as manual audit directed by the nebraska secretary of state's office. there is a paper trail. t our office prepares for election cycle by reviewing and updatingcy procedures for each department to ensure that each voter registration candidate filing, early voting request ballot orignature is processed according to the statutes and using consistent rules and guidelines. when processing thousands of records and training seasonal staff it is important to ensure that correct procedures are ct early voting by mail can be secure and accurate method of voting if mentioned properl for voting place elections nebraska requires voters in the re majority of counties who choose to vote by mail to request an early voting or absentee ballot

prior to each election as ballots cannot automatically be sent. signatures and now voter idy requirements are checked at the time of each request as processed. if these requirements are not met a ballot be sent.ce upon ballots being returned, signatures are checked again. drop boxes in douglas county are secure under 24/7 surveillance cameras and emptied each week by two individuals of different parties. i encourageal voters to use one of our drop boxes as they are the most direct way to return the voter places the item in the box and election workers pick them up. there are no third parties involved. voters in douglas county across all political spectrums have embraced the drop boxes on average 77% of all by mail ballots are returned via one of

our drop boxes. bolstering public confidence in al to successful elections local election officials are the trusted source for getting the message out about i'm fortunate and grateful that i have a good relationship with the local media tv radio and print as they assist my office in disseminating accurate and timely information. the big test this in nebraska isio implementation of voter id and making sure voters know what is needed both for by mail early voting and election day voting in order for ballot to be m accepted and their voiced to be heard. the media is also a vital rtner in reminding voters of deadlines and other helpful guides to make the process successful. for instance, working with our office to create an graphic or flow chart of thehe voter id options. my chief deputy election commissioner and myself attend

as many community events as possible to provide election answer questions and build relationships. these relationships have forged trust and instrumental for my office in correctly informing voters of changes relatedo elections. in nebraska we are also unique in the fact that we have a state law. poll workers to be drafted similar to jury duty. douglas county was the only county in nebraska that conducted a draft for many years. some advantages to drafting poll workers are increased community awareness of the process, less difficulty in secure election markers and an younger workforce with an the mid-50's while the majority of poll workers nationwide are over 60. in conclusion, it is my privileg douglas county and honor to be here representing the 93 county

election officials in nebraska who work diligently to conduct accurate elections. i encourage all citizens from coast to coast to go and have your voices heard on election day. thank you for inviting me today senator fisher and thank you to the committee for your time. mr. cruz. ms. nelson. >> chair klobuchar ranking member fisher and committee members my name is janine nelson former ncaap legal defense thank you for the opportunity to testify about the state of voting black americans both on the ground and in the courts and about the urgent need for congressional action to protect and secure fundamental freedom to vote. my testimony is informed by ldf extensive experience over 80 years protecting and advancing voting rights for black americans since our founding by thinker good marshal in 1940.

my testimony is also informed by the on the ground election protection work we must do every election cycle in order to ensure that black voters can cast a ballot and have accounted. last week was the 59th anniversary of bloody sunday t when patriots like john lewis were brutally beaten in salma alabama foror simply demanding the right to vote. their courage and action led to the passage of the voting rights act of 1965 and true start of our multiracial democracy. we nd congress to follow in the steps of those foot soldiers with courage and action today. it's been more than a decade since the shelby county decision where the supreme court gutted the heart of the voting rights act and congress still has yet to act but in that decade of congressional inaction states that were previously subject to preclearance have aggressively

and systemically trampled on voting rights especially those of black citizens. alabama, north carolina, texas and other states histories of discrimination advanced harsh voting restrictions within days, even hours of the shelby decision and a wave of voter suppression laws followed across the country. more recently the big lie and our election have stoked a backlash against voters of color. some states have targeted the precise pathways to the polls that black voters recent years whether it's eliminating or limiting drop boxes in florida early voting in georgia or vote by mail in texas. artificial intelligence is being weponized to advance frivolous challengess in georgia and this is gaining traction through programs like eagle ai as a nationwide strategy to distort the electorate. the increase use of ai also

threatens to turbo charge disinformation campaign historicallyargete black voters. despite decades of progress towards becoming a more inclusive just and equal b democracy, we are swiftly moving in the opposite direction. in alabama black and white voter turnout was nearly equal in 2012 but a decade voter turnout now lags nearly 8 percentage points behind white voter turnout. georgia had the largest racial disparity turnout in 2022 than at any point in the last decade and the 2020 redistricting was right with discrimination. of the nine states previously subject to preclearance six two-thirds haveits challenging their maps for racial discrimination, federal courts have already found in three recent cases alabama south carolina and louisiana that the states created racially discriminatory districting maps.

congressional maps so let's be clear, while ldf is fighting in the courts along with our other civil rights sisters and litigate our way out of this problem but congress can legislate. black americans are headed into november with a shredded shield as a result of the shelby county benravich precisely when we need strong voting rights protections in the face of rising destructive court decisions combined with inaction of congress have stripped them away. the state of voting rights for black americans is tenuous and that is an urgent crisis for our democracy and for this congress. the president issued a powerfuion in last week's state of the union address and he named the specific solutions that were reintroduced in bothambers, the john lewis advancement act and the freedom to vote act both of which we

call on congress to pass. the right to voteght that we hold dear. it is an exceptive nonviolent means of expressing our will protecting the right to voteff should not be a matter of partisan politics, it is the duty of all elected officials to honor and protect the sacred act that has enabled them to serve. thank you and i look forward to bl your questions. >> thank you very much ms. nels my spot because he has to leave and chair of the intel committee so he has some interest in protecting our elections and then we will turn over senator fisher and then we will go from there, thank you. >> thank you madame chairman,en thank you, for holding this critically important hearing and i appreciate our -- our panel here. i'm chairman of the intelligence committee. yesterday we had the worldwide

iefing from fbi cia odni, nsa, all of our intelligence co board and law enforcement. they indicate and i believe that we need more hearings like this and i appreciate senator fisher's involvement with this as well. in many ways, we are potentially less protected as we go in 2024 in terms to have security of our elections than we were during 2020. and that's a pretty stunning fact. there are four reasons why this is the case and i'm talking about now interference from influence. number 1 we -- a number of adversaries have seen how cheap and effective it is to interfere in our elections. the template laid out by russia in 2016 was literally pennies on

the dollar. if you're trying to disrupt a heck of a lot cheaper to use technology to disrupt and undermine another nation state election than it is to buy airplane, submarines and tanks. russia continues not just in our elections but elections around europe, around the world intervening. position in terms of support of ukraine. their interest level is h number o two this is just the nature of politics today americans on either e the political agenda have less faith in our institutions and much less faith in the integrity of our election system.

number three there was a case in missouri. the fifth circuit put out a ruling last july, i think the supreme court are ruling it now they putev a stay on this. literally prevents communication social media companies. i rehab the aftermath of the 2016 incursion. the ceo of facebook, mark zuckerberg said if the federal e of russians or other entities on facebook share that with us. in a bipartisan fashion the head of the intelligence communication shared that informationd and all throughout the trump administration.

it went back and forth on a regular basis. if they found an evidential influence that could be shared in an involuntary tarry basis and vice versa. as of last july the information took place in the government. finally, i know the panel spoke about this all ready we had a whole of artificial intelligence.f a.i. brings at a scale and speed tools to interfere misinform disinform, we know about deep fakes in terms of images and voices. it can happe at a scale and speed in which i have appreciate for secretaries of state here.

you guys there is no way to keep up with it. so it's important to educate the american this project hasn't gone away and our lladversaries wish us ill. inio terminates of political views we argue among ourselves. that's appropriate have an overlynfluences. ithey could briefly eric was voluntarilyt set up. folks from the trump administration you sited in michigan come intoo the system. could you briefly address that. >> yes, you were talking about uthe misinformation. it's been a member since 2019.

we found it to be really effective method to collaborate. e the current member as well as washington d.c. to insure a lot of what my colleagues from italabama. we do it collaboratively quiet effectively increasing the accuracy of voter roles. this has been the most secure and effective bipartisan collaboration to effect the elections. it hasio been victimized by a lot of misinformation, this underscores how this harms the security of our democracy. as l you just said, very clearly and one thing we aren't talking enough about our foreign adversaries tout the country have era greater incentive. the way they will interfere is notarying to harmce the infras secure. we use paper ballots and have

audits. we have lawyers in place -- layers in place to protect the votes. they will effectot our elections. multiscale attempts to foolat voters about their rights in an effort to cause confusion and install fear. in that effort to combat the effort west must invest in efforts to educate our systems. from all sectors and all parties collaborate more than we have before. make sure we are marching forward and protect every them about their voice and vote. the federal government muschamp be a partner in that effort working with all of us to insure we are recognizing what aligns

our election system isn't really left or right. it'sti the foreign interference igthat could cause every citizen to stop believing not justtheir institution but their own voice. we can all fight proudly and fight successfully if we do it together. >> thank you senator war warner. as a member of the armed services committee i i'm well aware of the activities we see. i know election officials also still k worry about elinfrastructure and still worry about the increase that we see fromnf cyber security threats and whether it's threats from the infrastructure or voter registration databases.

secretary allen could you tell us about how alabama has worked to mitigate potential cyber security threats and if you encountered any unique challengesou in the process or if you see theer threats changing$d overtime as well. >> thank you. we work very closely with the f information altertechnology and statewide agencies in the backbone of the in-house i.t. department we collaborate with these agencies and the fbi and dhs especially over the last several months with the primary we had last week and prepared for the runoff coming up in certain parts of alabama in april in the general election and in november. so we have many conversations on cyber that's one thing which

take c seriously. as a matter-of-fact on election night we have someone there fthe stade office. someone from our own i.t. department in our office that returns come in the evening we will answer things quickly and ndany kind potential threats. maybe targeting alabama. we work across the mini platform toto find off any type of cyberattacks.>> >> mr. cruise what are the unique challenges that local election officials face in mitigating those cyber security threats. >> if you turn your mic on. >> you know, the big one is the a website of ours and

change the result or something of that nature and impersonating myself. you know, perhapsce changes. we were fortunate of the fact that in douglas county we have theas group called dom deck nol good evening commission. it's a joint venture.re the experts on technology cyber security, and things of that nature. they provide of that. i have two gentleman in-house in the technology department. they website. they maintain our website. if something were to happen we could fix it in-house fairly quickly. we don'tn contract with the third party for that. we can also change things on it to get messages out.

you know, i think from the local election official prospective, we hear all of the time that voters trust their local election officials. we hear a lot that we believe maybe there was fraud or b misinformation or something in somepl not our jurisdiction. so really, having a trust with your community with your with media outlets when issues occur you can contact them and get the correct information out quickly. you spoke about in your opening statement about the information that you provide to votersha in douglas county. the good relationship with the media. you also mentioned the postelection audit process. could you talk a little bit about the benefits that these

audits provide to the voters in your jurisdiction. >> that's administered by the secretary of state's office. they randomly pick certain precincts in certain races for counties to audit. larger counties have three of them. every countyy has at least once state ride general. last timee we had the three races inin the three precincts. it discuss the governors race and sheriff's race. we had 2,325 votes among the three precincts. we go get the ballots out of the volt and literally tally them match up with what the machine count would have been. we were perfect last time. that instils confidence in the

voters. it's another level of check andot balance. it's another level of proof to our machines are counting the bal -- ballots correctly. not just the voters but the workers. they were great ambassadors. >> thankba you very much. thank you madam good. thank you. secretary benson you mentioned in your testimony. implemented in person early imvoting during the primary. share more information about how you work with local officials about these and other reforms. thatu expands access to voting and that's why it's important. >> thank you senator. both in 2018 and 2022 voters add -- amended the states constitution. in protection as well as enhance

military over seas. they also gave every citizen a right to have a drop off for they are checked daily and nine days of early voting in every statewide election. our presidential p held, just last month was the first state wide election primed for early voting and found it to be a game changer in how they have access to cast their ballot ands in person [roll call vote [roll call votetwo saturdays and sundays. increasing voter engagement and address the fact when it's not okvoting. a lot ofo the reasons why it's because of inconvenience. they can't get to the polls in a certain time or day. expanding the number of days we had has given more opportunity to participate and given more democracy parers.

to engage citizens and become fully educated and informed voters. >> thank you, i i mentioned a.i. we know we have misinformation out there and how viral it can go. can you speak briefly on how disinformation targets voters to suppress the vote and how a.i. would make it easier for misinformation to go viral? >> disinformation is not new to the i election system unfortunately. blakeblack voters have been targeted throughout the time they were to vote as to where they cast the bal ballots. with a.i., we see those efforts holt flies and exacerbated. we lookng at the current

okpractice. that's something that goes back to black people would vote in the jim crow era and have their name broadcast to the community. theyo vote. we see doxing and across the and permeanting the most dangerous spaces because of technology and we also see being used. where we had manipulated images of voters in communities that what their choses are. it's dangerous and hard to detect and we need legislation to improve that. we need protection for the right to vote to enable voters. >> very good. thank you. among the same lines briefly

mr. kramer. we called on the eac to take actionc following the fake robocalls in new hampshire. voted unanimously to allow officials to use federal funds disinformation. can we talk about efforts to take this on? >> yes, thank you. the first thing is using that examplee in new hampshire. we weree next in line with the republican primaries. democratics be the first in the nation.us >> mr. cruise is ready to take that on. >> the first thing we do is plan and make suretners and onedo thing i'm thankful for we have a manager who is monitoring all of the threats coming in and using that information to inform our decision making process. you have to get everybody

onboard with this. one thing with elections we rely on so many processes county wide and municipality wide andny statewide. therese is so much overlap communication is so important. when we have something going on we can push that information to the center and goes to the national level. when it comes to a.i. and funding pacifically. thee counties have to have an ability to participate in the application of the funds if they are available. using themm to mitigate any ai threats we encounter. i'm sorry go ahead. >> mr. allen can you talk about how we work hard to get some federal funding for elections. it been -- can you talk about how they put funds to be used. >> when you have funds to make available to our 67 county

mapping software. that the voters but in the precinct. we made that available and being utilized right now. pleased with implementation we turn it over to writ. >> thank you madam chair. ommittee heard testimony regarding nationwide techallenges for recruiting and retaining poll workers. you launched the polls tork recruit poll workers in the state. can you explain about what that initiative is and how it's going

at this point. >> thank you senator. so who better than veterans protect our elections. we protected our contusional right to vote. we wanted to launch the programcruit poll workers. itu can tell you as a former probate judge recruiting poll workers, that's one thing we wanted to make available. that's reallyel important. we make that available to them. we want to give another tool to the turkey clerk. when thing i encourage. the sometimes you have some and get involved and that's how they can help the local heroes at the polls. we think that's important.

we work with the alabama state bar to give attorneys and recruit attorneys. they sign-up and work on election day and get 4 hours of continuing education. >> oh, that's great. >> away want to make that toll available as well. we want to recruit poll workers. >> thank you for your work on that. the federal law bans from voting in elections. they are given the tools to make sureno noncitizens can vote in ouri introduced the citizen ballot protection act in the senate. i appreciate all of my colleagu in the effort. congressman palmar introduced the house version of that bill earlier, last summer, and it was voted out in november. i hope to see both chambers pass this and it become law. the bill isf simple amending the

national voter registration act n'to allow states to put in place proof of citizenship. thep voter registration form and anyon state mail voter registration form they might be able to develop. can we explain the secretaries of states around the country to provide their stateos or local election officials. the ability to verify citizenship. >> thank you forer the question. the simple answer, we don't have anything at our dispose to verify sit citizenship. they sign their name and testing they are telling the truth and the citizen of the country. we asked the united state citizenship and immigration

services for noncitizen. we were denied. this is the systemic verification entitlement program database. the save program database doesn't allow states to verify sit sensorship in data ta base. that's all we have. we tried you know, the federal government and courts have blocked previous verify citizenship. i think it's important now more happened another the southern border. >> any others that border. >> tre are significant challenges. we made telephone calls.

>> i only have 30 seconds left. you spoke about if they need their home. can you explain to the committee here the efforts we make to make that available to everybody. >> we require photo identification to vote. >> anyone in need of this in alabama we go to their home if they call and request that we'll go to their house to make sure they have a photo identification. we want every citizen to vote. >> okay. >> senator murphy. >> thank you very much. madam chair and secretary benson. you had several with intimidation of poll workers.

one was election director threatened to be hung for the patriots will surround you. another city saying they will pay dearly. this is across the country. this ismple to keep it put forward in oregon. being written on the parking lot. if you see it was basically done right after the election. electronics late it, elections don't work. i must say i have been hearing from clerks all over the states youe difficulty poll workers due to the threats inspired by

trump argument. this is happening all over the country. >> yes, it has since the 2020 election cycle in terms of the threat and challenge in my colleague spoke about the solutions and anti-doxingtions legislation andlu michigan has gone a long way to pass state laws to very clearly draw a line in the sand about what is or isn't appropriate in terms of election workers. i'd add one thing clarity from the government. elected officials in there and line of defense. make it a crime inform a lot of the misinformation. the other thing is one thing in

particular michigan launched the democracy and program in 2020. partners to recruit veterans into partners with aba nationally and in the state to recruit attorneys. it'sey a new generation of election workers to step-up to the plate and protect our democracy. >> thank you. i'm trying to get in a few other questions here. secretary aen!b importanceme making sure noncitizens don't vote. it's the pointover some discussion wheth to intimidate people and whether we are addressing a real problem. have you seente a significant number of noncitizens in voting into your state? >> no. >> michigan did audits toexamine that? >> we take the importance to ensure every eligible votes.

we have several lawyers of we implated voter education.ar we made clear to folks the legal consequences on these. at the same time we did our workti we have found that our voter roles are clean and noncitizens are not voting. >> there are many ways to approbe this very well and would you affir that's the case. >> we sat there and attempted to vote in any notable member. >> i sate to see people trying to address a nonproblem as a problem and try to intimidate people from voting. ms.nelson,re i wanted to turn to your testimony. you mentioned several things done to discourage people from voting. i heard about these across the country. if you have a section you don't

want to vote like a certain city or poor area or indian reservation. changes in polling location, you move it and consolidate it. youu proceed to open the voting place late.at you proceed to understaff it so there is a long line. you proceed to put the voting place where there is no parking so people get flustered. you proceed to runout of ballots. you talk about the mississippi. these strategies, how do we tackle these. >> we have 25 poll monitors on the ground right now in mississippi. addressing the issues you just laid out. i had a realtime lead that's what they are seeing. there arein many ways that are not isevidencely detectable until you are in the middle of an election and voters are disen fans

chinese -- disenfranchised. theyr attempt to cast the ballot. what we need, in addition to election protection efforts we need strong legislation preventingng changes from happen without some preclearance, some authority that says it's okay to do this. it won't harm certain voters. >> yeah. >> i wanted to emphasis that in closing. these sound like legitimate operations. they can be used in a prejudicial manner. thank you. >> thank you.. yoi want to thank you for being here today. your work is extremely important.e they conducted elections to make sure the integ and confidence off the system. i want you to know i appreciate your service. i'll direct all of my questions to you.

i'll ask that you keep your answers brief. let's get started. are you executivede order 1409. helping with completing vote by mailli materials finding third to provide voting services on federal property. >> yes sir.. >> are you aware of an authority to permit them to engage in this activity? >> i'm not. norm am i. >> it violates the hatch act that prohibits spending funds authorizedoh by congress. does this seem problematic to xpquote, assist applicants and submitting vote by mail forms. >> yes sir. it'sts problem matter. this q executive order said any outsidec organizes brought in t vetoer mobilization

must be nonpartisan. arlet's look at what's helping the biden administration with this order. the health and human services acknowledge they workin with groups like the aclu to implement the order. the ladder quote pioneering bold progressive ideas. they revealed theng with the department's agriculture. does this sound like a nonpartisan group to you? >> no, sir. >> they are not nonpartisan. they are openly partisan. openly left wing groups. thut to vote activity. sounds like it's an arm of the rnbiden campaign, doesn't it? >> yes, sir. >> the republican administration and heritage foundation to engage in nonpartisan voter mobilization activity. a few weeks ago announced they are paying college students to

reach out in nonpartisan poll workers. they provided an example of the workers they were talking about. previously worked for the aclu and alliance for justice. that's a partisan group. does this expire confidence that miit's nonpartisan. doesn't sound like it, sir. >> one way to aleve ate the concern is revealing what they use the taxpayer dollars to do. under order 14019. each federal agencies come up with a plan and submit it to the white house. the biden administration disclosed the plan. that's despite for your request to do so. coming back. is normal for the president or government to require in

voter mobilization and develop secret plans for doing that and keep it secret from the public. >> i don't think that's normal. i don't either. many americans are concerned about the voter mobilization plan and the biden administration needs ti to unveil the plans. me >> thank you, madam chair before i get to my question. let me share with my colleagues the committee and witnesses in front of this. this is one of many examples. the exchange any partisan language in the directives that were referencing the sentencing. i'll point it to the that was passed on an overwhelming bipartisan basis.an section 2 findings and purposes

number two it's the duty of the federal state and local gove exercise of that right. it goes on from there. anybody looking for where we might find the opening of the federal government. not in a partisan basis but and encouraging citizens of the united states exercise their fundamental right tons vote. this is one on. we should have conversations aboutan modernizing the election and what we need do to protect the integrity of the democracy. the threat to election workers and poll workers has been covered in the hearing. recognizing that we are deep into the primary season of 2024. let's talk about practical now. they can and should be done just

two examples at the county level. the larger county and mosing media day. every election to inform voters. the voting process and understanding to maintain faith and confidence of the process. it takes a while in california because of the lie high -- back to the county. questions for mr. kramer. what systems are in place for localin officials for federal resources or university resources available to them and sharing of information.

>> thank you for the question, senator. the greatqu honor we have in charleston county with state partners. we holdst the stateevery year. we are talking about the voting in charleston county. we'll empower other organizes within charleston county to be our ambassadors. under strictun guidelines, it helps give the official information. when we do a program like that we have to share that with other counties and states. the eac has a great clearinghouse program we are now taping into. that's a resource sharing where we can ask questions what are we doing for the administration and i pulled out the eac. wonderful, thank you. now on a very specific topic. thetment of education clarified rules around the federal work-study program. making it clear yes it's legal

forra students to work an election offices. i encourage the detartment to make this clarification because somehow it's question in the minds of some. i'm glad it happened. it's a great way to bring dedicated younger americans to see their democracy up-close and person nal. possibly help alleviate staffing r concerns. you had high school and college age poll workers and election workers. how did they preform? they are amazing and bring a fresh breath of air to the polling places. they love when they see high school and college students participating. one thing we see they continue to serve after they have done it once. that's the remarkable thing bringing them to the process.

in south carolina you can servein as young as 16. you getet conflict resolution. you are able too team building. this is a great resume builder. i look forward to work with the college of charleston. we have the grant money we'll introduce through that. >> secretary benson. is that something you can adopt or expand. this. >> yes i'm grateful for my colleague for his leadership and partnerships that make democracy work and it's a team sport. we welcome people of all backgrounds. >> thank you. thank you madam chair. >> thank you madam chair toe theyo panel secretary benson, former president called georgia

secretaryof of state. this is the aftermath of the election. all i want to do is this, i want to find 11,000 votes. is one more then we had. >> no, i never got a call after making such an inappropriate relationship. is iter proper? >> i can take care. >> the president of the united them to find the exact number to win the state. >> i don't know what it meant to find those votes. secretary at the time. proper for the president of the united states to call the

s secretary of state and fin number of votes they knead need toed win. >> i'll follow the law that cr alabama legislature laid out to follow. you fearll answering the question. the intimidation of election workers. >> i'm introducing this week. slpolling place protection act. d it would create criminal penalties. threats of violence to intimidate voters or election officials. we appreciate you expressing support. whatsu effects on election workers efforts to election workers. >> i mean, not only does it cause us to fear going to work even though we do important work. we have decided do our

patriotic duty. takes away from the work of administering elections and think about our own safety. i could say speaking with election workers having a clear statement in the law. it's not okay and crime to threaten us in the workplace. theyth worked for everyone. web do the federal legislation. passing similar legislation goes a long way. that type ofr is not approved or appropriate in the state. >> what's the impact on election administration. there are threats and intimidation. we saw in 2020. we saw it in georgia. i enfact, i'd note madam chair they were begging in public. thein former president seized spreading baseless conspiracy

theories. it put lives at risk. they face those kinds of threats. >> it's keeping the good people prrunning elections. in south carolina, we are losing a wealth hard-working professional men anand women by preforming this duty in the fact they are leaving. wealth of knowledge is a bad thing for the united states and these are people who swear to uphold the constitutions of the united states. it's a bad thing. >> when asked what keeps me up at nightke of theen they wake up in the morning and get a threat to their safety that concerns me.

>> it'd was a lengthy op ed. it was hired by the op ed. wrote an editorial about conspiracy theories. none the less the state legislature pass. runoff the elections. driving up wait times. what's the impact of that kind of policy on insuring access for eligible voters. >> it's very harmful. law. black voters in particular, we know georgia has a very, very horrible reputation for dispropotion ate minds that black voters face and part of their law attempted to prevent people from providing basic substance that have to waits on the long lines like water andt that

part of the law and other aspects of the law and dis infranchised them. they are in the upcoming election. >> it's six times waiting in like for black voters. thank you for your testimony. >> thank you senator ossoff. >> the gift of being number 100. >> you went first on the committee. >> it works in all kinds of ways. depending on the chair. definitely appreciate you for your testimony and being here. i, miss nelson would love to start with you. you submitted in your written testimony the challenges the ldf

was facing and working with in g hind county mississippi. jackson. in particular i there was some specific data that you shared in that written testimony heinz county is 70% black. times in my recent memory there was a competitive governor's race. there wasn't a opportunity for mississippi to elect their first democratic governor in, again very long time. your written testimony shows they were up to nine polling locations in heinz county that ran out of ballots multiple times during election day. some of them before 12:00 noon.

i know, ldf was a part of some investigative work and steps to help towo find out in heinz county what went wrong. in efforts to offer the learnings for the advocacy organizes across the states and country. can you share with the committee what you learned from the investigationover what happened in heinz county? >> sure, some of it is still ongoing. we didn't get an answer before today's election before there was a threat of bal ballots running out again. we are still investigating that. we have people on the ground and we arere documenting in a new report. there is a record that can

support the federal legislation we are here pass. the suggestion there are no modern conditions that should give rise to federal intervention is policies and the work we do along with our civil rights colleague establishes that record to support federal legislation like the freedom votes act. >> thankfr you ms. nelson. >> i actually had the pleasure of being down in alabama a few week being on the campus of alabama state university. they conducted a field hearing in alabama talking to alabama voters. just that point the mod he were discrimination alabama'smo are experiencing and we see happening across the country. i would like toy, instead of landing there. you said something in your testimony just a few minutes ago in response to an earlier

question. i'd love, to press on it to understand more. you made mention of funds. you said that your office uses to get mapping software for counties and municipalities. capturing that accurately? for the county board of registers. >> that's helpful. ii noted earlier this month there are 6,000 voters in alabama's newly drawn second congressionalt received election postcards listing incorrect voter information. i appreciate your office has said before you weren't involved in sending out the postcards. cana you intersection between the challenges of alabama voters not getting the correct information. the tool you say your office happens to provide county elections.

why you think your office had nothing to had theec incorrect information. >> the boardover registers orrect district. it's not the secretaries role. to conduct any of the voter assignments that are left up to the county. all the law had to do was makeke sure we got on the telephone with the county in question to make sure it right. they introduced chaos. it was something that wasn't appreciated by my office.te open communication would have been i think to do that. it was on montgomery county.

they make sure the iscorrect district and make sure everyone was in the correct precinct. everyone that voted got the correct ballot. they got the correct ballot to vote in congressional district two. >> thank you secretary allen. i find it interesting. i wound find itnt response goes to an advocacy group or not doing in sb one in the advocacy groups and prohibited with the information they need. i find that an interesting contradiction. thank you. i yield my time. >> thank you for holding this hearing. thank you forr. your willingness to be here today to testify. a few questions for you ifthat's okay. we heard yesterday on the

intelligence committee the leaders of the intelligence community. this is surprising news about the threat that social media platforms posed to the democracy. every single one of the platforms has been used to spread education. not just here but all around the world. sometimes violent and deadly effects. leading up to the 2022 election. mentions of voter fraud just absolutely skyrocketed. in 2020 we saw fellow citizens storm the capitol that's well known to save election that had not been stolen. their rage amplified and sale advertisement for the sake of our dccy. it'sy well-established. this is not a political view. putin interfered with our

election as he has with elections in other countries. we are playing both sides of every single issue with 10 million tweets. that's not an exaggeration. the reality of what was happ lot going on as the chair knows today on tiktok in the capitol. i don't want to get distracted today except to say probably good things won't happen in if one of the sources of our electoral process is coming from a platform that's controlled by the chinese communist party. one can image that won't end in a bad way for thed states. what happened in 2022 and 2020 and 2016 won't high pressure this year. you stated that misinformation

is the top concern in 2024. more than in 2020. can you talk about what national standards you think we ought to be able to put in place to safeguard our elections from onlinepu campaigns? >> thank youma yes, we worked in michigan to emphasis that. there is a greater incentive to interfere with elections in which theyrf will interfere and deceive our voters. particularly with this being the first election intelligence on the rise. we believe that's one of the likely tactics. first and foremost and senator's bill against deceptive practices will help be prepared. we have state legislation to fix it to that effect. gi secondly, i'd that as i often say democracy is a team

sport. stating what's okay and what is whnot. it'swh one piece but not the whole piece of the puzzle. trusted voices and safe leadersommunity leaders and many others. they were doing it in our state and think every senator can be a convenier ofs toto equip them with truthful information and help us get that out ahead of the misinformation hitting our state. ensuring voters don't get fooled because theyy were educated about the truth of thect >> can i ask one more question quickly madam chair? >> thank you. >> next week the supreme court will hear the case of murphy againstan missouri. this addresses district court decisionad preventing the federalwith social media companies about the cob sent on that site. theyon had a disasterrous effect

on the ability to combat foreign influencers. our elections it effects their ability to coordinate with the platforms on public health information. the efforts undertake multiple administrations to hold the platforms accountable. for their own -- to have the of policy. they posted a reported saying the government stop wanted some platforms to stop foreign disinformation campaigns onaltogether. mplegal experts called injunction striki it's confused legal arguments. i draws the federal governments rule. ii wonder how you navigate thear challenges in the changing legal ep environments. the clear and present danger to

michigan's election. >> it's difficult and it court makes more challenging to collaborate. the social media companies play a role and protect users from deceptive practices.we are awaiting the outcome of wothe case. the information they receive helpin the way the misinformation causes cayous and confusion focus. to spot people trying to fool them and the bad information on social media instead respond with truthful information to help us encounter that. >> thank you, to everybody on the panel. thank you all are witnesses for good hearing. i election officials here today and for your work to ensure elections

are administered securely and safely. i'd like to thank ms. nelson for her work to ensure equal access. i look forward to continuing our work on this committee to support election officials and protect a free airfare election. the hearing record will remain open for one week. with that, we are adjourned.ank you. [chatter] [inaudible chatter] . . .

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