Scott to Introduce Bill Establishing Election Integrity Commission

WASHINGTON – Tomorrow, U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) will introduce a bill to establish the 2020 Bipartisan Advisory Committee charged with examining the integrity of the November election and making recommendations to State legislatures to improve the security, integrity, and administration of federal elections. Senator Scott released the following statement:

“The beauty of the American experiment is the ability to freely question our processes and build upon lessons learned. We cannot move forward without looking back and scrutinizing the issues that led to millions of Americans losing trust in our election system. While every election has a modicum of fraud, the circumstances around the pandemic led multiple states to make rushed and perhaps ill-planned changes to their election systems weeks ahead of the presidential election. Simply put, Congress needs to act in a bipartisan fashion to examine the missteps—intentional or not—made this year in state legislatures across the country.

“My bill will establish an Election Integrity Commission that would study the merits and administration of the November 2020 election and make recommendations to State legislatures to improve the security, integrity, and administration of federal elections. It is absolutely critical that every American has faith in our electoral system and that their vote is counted. As President Reagan said, ‘Freedom is never more than a generation away from extinction,’ and now more than ever before is it our duty to regain the trust of the American voter.”

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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