Republican lawmakers on Monday introduced what they said is the most conservative election integrity bill to be seriously considered in the House in more than 20 years.
The American Confidence in Elections (ACE) Act was unveiled during a field hearing in Atlanta of the House Committee on Administration, chaired by Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis.
“The act is our federalist approach to boost voter confidence and encourage more states to implement common sense, election integrity reforms,” Steil said at the hearing. “The ACE Act will provide states with the tools to implement election integrity reforms, implement key election integrity reforms in Washington, D.C., in particular and protect political speech.”
A summary of the bill said the act will require states to preserve election materials such as ballots and ballot envelope images for 22 months and allows states to use federal funds on audits and to implement certain restrictions on ballot harvesting. The Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration would also be required to provide data to states so they can check if registered voters are citizens or if they had died.
The bill also loosens rules on political party committees coordinating expenditures with candidates and raises contribution limits for political party committees.
The field hearing was set in Georgia because after the state made stricter election provisions following the 2020 election, liberals were outraged. President Joe Biden called Georgia’s Election Integrity Act “Jim Crow 2.0” and companies implemented boycotts of the state, including Major League Baseball pulling the All-Star Game from Atlanta.
But Georgia had record turnout for its 2022 midterm election, and record turnout for the U.S. Senate runoff between Republican Herschel Walker and Democrat Raphael Warnock, which Warnock won.
“Fighting for election integrity is important and we are prepared to win,” Steil said. “The ACE Act is House Republicans’ key election integrity bill and I look forward to seeing it pass on the House floor later this year.”
The bill also would prohibit nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations from directly or indirectly funding election administration. The provision is a response to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg pouring millions into a nonprofit that sent money to election boards in 2020, which Republicans allege benefited Democratic precincts and funded activities that Republicans oppose, such as ballot drop boxes.
The bill also repeals an executive order from Biden that directs more than 600 federal agencies to engage in voter registration and mobilization efforts, despite a lack of congressional appropriation or authorization for such agencies to do so.
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