Rounds Supports Legislation to Establish Election Integrity Commission
WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) joined U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) to introduce legislation establishing the 2020 Bipartisan Advisory Committee to examine the integrity of the November election and make recommendations to State legislatures to improve the security, integrity and administration of federal elections.
“Our system of government is based on free and fair elections, run by individual states,” said Rounds. “I remain confident in the security of South Dakota’s election system. Still, the fact remains that many Americans are concerned about the integrity of other states’ election processes. A bipartisan commission will allow us to examine the 2020 election and restore Americans’ faith in our federal election process.”
Background
The 2020 Bipartisan Advisory Committee will be composed of 18 members; 9 appointed by the Republican Senate leader in consultation with the House minority leader and 9 appointed by the Speaker of the House in consultation with the Democrat Senate leader.
- The Committee will study:
- the effects of the COVID–19 pandemic on the election;
- the election practices adopted in response to the COVID–19 pandemic;
- practices regarding mail-in ballots, absentee ballots, and vote-by-mail procedures;
- practices that would have allowed improper or fraudulent voter registration or votes;
- the scope of any improper or fraudulent voter registration or votes;
- and practices that would bolster public confidence in the integrity of future general elections.
- The Advisory Committee will submit two reports:
- The initial report will include precinct-by-precinct data highlighting the number and incidence of any improper and fraudulent voter registrations and improper and fraudulent votes that were cast in the election.
- The final report will include recommendations on best practices that each level of local and State Government should adopt for:
- administering elections for federal office during a pandemic and other national emergencies;
- mitigating fraud and increasing the integrity and security of mail-in ballots, absentee ballots, and vote-by-mail procedures; and
- preventing improper or fraudulent votes from being cast and stop improper voters from being registered
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