Poll Challengers Defended by Witnesses in House Election Hearing

On March 23, election integrity militant Lynn Taylor appeared before Congress” to set the record straight.”

Taylor, the head of the Virginia Institute of Public Policy, accused election poll watchers of being a” problem” and accused the Election Assistance Commission( EAC ), nonprofit groups, and the media of” misleading the American people for the past two years.”

According to Taylor,” there has been a constant drumbeat of the media, the present administration, and political organizations advancing the fake narrative that citizen poll watchers are avoidable and sometimes” a threat to democracy.”

Before U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland defined families attending school board meetings as” domestic terrorists ,” Taylor and FBI Director Christopher Wray had already established a national line to have concerns of threats against election officials, according to written and verbal sworn testimony at the House Subcommittee on Elections reading.

Taylor cited Department of Justice statistics to support his claim that 90 % of the 1,100 reported” hostile contacts” during the hotline’s first year of operation were deemed legitimate by concerned citizens.

According to Taylor,” none of the four cases where there have been charges or criminal charges related in any way to threats from surveys watchers.”

Products and panel discussions on” threats to votes by member observers and volunteers” have been present at national elections officials’ meetings for the past two years, according to her.

She used the creation of the Committee for Safe and Secure Elections in Orange County, California, as an illustration of a group made up of vote officials, law enforcement personnel, members of various non-profit organizations, EAC members, and Department of Homeland Security members who work there to safeguard elections officials from potential intimidation or disorders.

Incidents Did Not Take Place

According to Taylor,” The predicted challenges did not occur in the 2022 exams.” But the story hasn’t been stopped by that.

” Our individuals are decried, demonized, and attacked as apparently engaging in unexpected or illegal actions simply by carrying out a political commitment outlined in state and federal law.”

According to Michigan County Clerk Lisa Lyons, most challenges are resolved” in a matter of minutes” in her understanding, and the words” surveys challengers” has acquired” an earned significant connotation.”

Representative Joseph Morelle( D-N ) Y .) closely questioned Taylor about a podcast appearance in which she claimed that some irate voters believed” something fishy” was going on following the 2020 election and that” I’m not sure I can disagree with them.”

Biden: Did He Win?

Taylor was again questioned by Morelle,” Did Joe Biden lose the 2020 poll?”

” I do think President Biden is in charge. Yes, I do think he won the election, she replied. ” I have no idea if there is any fraud proof.”

Three of the five witnesses were questioned by Rep. Terri Sewell( D-Ala ) about whether the” 2020 and 2022 elections were fair and secure.” ” Yes” or” No”?

Taylor retorted,” Yes ,” as did each witness who was questioned.

There is” no evidence of widespread fraud or wrongdoing” in the most recent elections, according to Sewell. However, she claimed that despite a” barrage of misinformation ,” there have been” increasing threats.”

Sewell cited the so-called Brooks Brothers riot in Miami-Dade County, Florida, and the” military people” showing up to watch over a ballot drop package in Maricopa County in 2022 as examples of concrete Republican threats to our votes.

Republicans who were protesting the Florida incident demanded that the national recount be halted.

Witness Benjamin Hovland, vice-chairman of the EAC and a Trump nominee, said the impact was demonstrated by” significant turnover” of election workers when Morelle and Rep. Norma Torres( D-California ) questioned him about whether the current environment is affecting election officials’ ability to do their jobs.

It is heartbreaking to hear that social election officials are afraid to perform their duties, Hovland told the committee.

Taking Good Care of Oneself

The remainder of the reading was devoted to educating the public about the significance of election clarity and the fact that each house of Congress is the jury of” Elections, Returns, and Qualifications of its own Members” under Article I, Section 5 under the U.S. Constitution.

Sewell clarified that the House employs and deploys its own staff, giving them the responsibility of overseeing and monitoring votes, post-election procedures, and election machine trying.

She expressed her desire for sufficient funding to enable them to carry out their duties.