FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 28, 2023
“It is the right of every legal, voting-age American citizen to vote in free, fair, secure, transparent elections.”
Washington, D.C. – National chairman of the Election Transparency Initiative and former attorney general of Virginia Ken Cuccinelli this week testified before the Committee on House Administration as part of the hearing titled, “American Confidence in Elections: State Tools to Promote Voter Confidence.”
Chairman Cuccinelli emphasized that the Constitution gives states primary responsibility for elections, and thus it is incumbent on Congress to fix federal statutes to ensure legitimate federal functions related to elections are used to support—not restrict—the States’ abilities to properly administer them.
Specifically, Cuccinelli urged Congress to remedy the American Confidence in Elections Act (the ACE Act), as well as to update the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) to give the states better ability to clean their voter rolls. He also called for improvements to voter identification processes and requirements in the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Voting Act (UOCAVA) and the MOVE Act, and for Congress to direct appropriate federal agencies to assist state and local election offices with list maintenance and require federal databases to be made available free of charge.
Full Testimony | Opening Remarks
Chairman Ken Cuccinelli issued the following statements as part of his testimony:
“It is the right of every legal, voting-age American citizen to vote in free, fair, secure, transparent elections, and to know their vote is properly counted and not cancelled by an improper or illegal vote. How is this achieved? That is what we will focus on today. And that begins with understanding the role and responsibility of the States and Federal Government in elections.”“There are two concepts I’d like to focus on that help achieve fair, free, secure, and transparent elections: that states are primarily responsible for the execution of our elections and that the federal government needs to take steps to make it easier for the states to carry out our elections.”
“The American Confidence in Elections Act (the ACE Act) is built on a principle of federalism, and a finding that the ‘States have the primary role in establishing election law and administering elections.’ This is a refreshing perspective to see in Washington, D.C. In addition, the ACE Act addresses several provisions of federal law that actually keep states from being able to properly administer their elections, which I urge this Committee and this Congress to remedy as it considers the ACE Act during this Congress.”
The Election Transparency Initiative, a partnership between the American Principles Project (APP) and Susan B. Anthony (SBA) Pro-Life America was organized to combat federal H.R. 1 and H.R. 4 legislation and advocate for state-based election reforms that voters can trust.
###
