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Washington, D.C. (Aug. 11, 2022)— Thursday, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, held a roundtable with state officials and election experts to examine the effects of the unprecedented rise in election lies following the 2020 presidential election. Ahead of the roundtable, the Committee released new findings from the Committee’s investigation into the dire problem of election subversion and misinformation. The Committee found that lies about elections endanger both our democratic system and the people who administer our elections.
“Let’s be clear: The election lies pushed by former President Trump and his allies have inspired truly dangerous efforts to subvert elections. These schemes are not about fairness, election security, or the truth. They make it harder for Americans to cast their ballots, but easier for dishonest officials to overturn the results of elections they don’t like,” said Chairwoman Maloney during her opening statement. “Today’s report details a set of actions that Congress and the Administration can take to begin addressing this problem. This includes establishing a coordinated federal approach to protecting our elections.”
The Committee heard from Jim Condos, Secretary of State for the State of Vermont; Lisa Marra, Director of Elections for Cochise County, Arizona, and President, Election Officials of Arizona; Tina Barton, Senior Election Expert at The Elections Group; and Nora Benavidez, Senior Counsel and Director of Digital Justice and Civil Rights at Free Press.
Members and panelists discussed how lies about the 2020 election promoted by former President Donald Trump and his supporters have undermined public confidence in our elections and driven an unprecedented wave of threats against election officials.