Thread by @Brandi_Buchman

Hello and welcome to Wednesday.

Today at 1PM ET, I will live-tweet the @COVIDOversight hearing on ensuring a free, fair and safe election during the #COVID19 pandemic.
Witness list below⤵️

@CourthouseNews

Today's hearing follows the opening of a probe by chairman @WhipClyburn where the committee requested info from George, Texas, Florida and Wisconsin officials on their plans to eradicate existing barriers voters may face this Nov given the issues those states had during primaries

What US lawmakers are asking state officials to do is observe the CDC's own guidelines for voting during a pandemic.
These guidelines call for:
- Increased polling locations
- Early voting and extended voting
- Provision of in-person voting alternatives
cdc.gov/coronavirus/20…

CDC offers instructions on Election Day concerns during the pandemic including recs on how to modify arrangements for lines and improving flow of larger crowds, i.e. drive-up voting, creating outdoor voting venues

According to the committee's findings, 100 polling places were closed in Fla. this March & in Wisconsin, just 3% of polling places were open in Milwaukee for April's primary.

And as widely reported, in both TX & GA, voters waited for obscenely long stretches to vote. In some cases, people waited for over 5 hours because there weren't enough polling places open or workers inside.

From my colleague Kayla Goggin in Georgia this June:
courthousenews.com/georgia-primar…
"At West Hunter Street Baptist Church in Atlanta’s historically black West End neighborhood, some voters who lined up before 7 a.m. did not finish casting their ballots until nearly 9 a.m."

Some voters waited for two hours to vote during the Texas primaries. Others waited longer.
"She stepped into the line at 6:30 p.m.; she cast her ballot at 10:10 p.m. She estimated there were still more than 75 people behind her."
texastribune.org/2020/03/03/tex…

For a slice of what went on in Wisconsin, per Joe Harris: litigation was launched there in May where voters said they were "forced to choose between forgoing their constitutional rights to participate in their democracy" or risk their health.
courthousenews.com/wisconsin-suit…

And in Florida primaries, the turn out was record-breaking in terms of mail in ballots and a good showing for Democrats
sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/…
but there is still a lot of uncertainty among Dems in the Sunshine State about November:
politico.com/news/2020/09/0…

Secys of State for TX, GA, FL & WI received reqs from the @COVIDOversight Cmte in mid-August seeking their plans to avoid last min poll closures, long lines & more. The deadline to respond? Aug 28.
One example here in a letter to FL SOS Laurel Lee
documentcloud.org/documents/7204…

The committee requested stats from Lee on the following:
- current voter turn out projections (incl. absentee)
- # of polling places + early voting locations
- projected # of poll workers by county + # of those committed to serve
- # of dropbox locations for the general election

Near identical requests were made of other State secretaries including GA Secy Brad Raffensperger, TX Secy Ruth Hughes & to WI Election Commission chairwoman Ann Jacobs
documentcloud.org/documents/7204…

The hearing gets underway soon. Live-stream available here:

And we're off. And we're starting with a reaction from @WhipClyburn on the bombshell report from WaPo:
washingtonpost.com/politics/bob-w…

Clyburn: The Trump admin did play down this deadly pandemic, refusing to level with the American people about the known danger and by refusing to implement a national plan to stop the spread.

More than 190K Americans have died and it is continuing to kill hundreds and infect tens of thousands every day, Clyburn says.

And in just weeks now, Americans will head to the polls to vote.

We cannot let the pandemic be used to exacerbate the ugly history of voter suppression. - @WhipClyburn

In TX, local officials warned voters could wait in line for hours on election day and reported not having enough poll workers was the primary concern.

Clyburn: Given TX's refusal to expand absentee voting, it's crucial Texas take steps now to recruit poll workers rather than resort to closing polling places and reducing hours.

In GA, there's a "puzzling choice" he notes, not to mail out absentee ballots to all voters after successfully doing so for the primary.
GA Secy Raffensperger has claimed mailing out ballots would lead to "longer lines at the polls" but Clyburn says, reality is just the opposite

.@WhipClyburn: "Every voter who casts an absentee ballot is a voter who will not be waiting on line at the polls."

Even while warning against fraud, the president is calling on his supporters to vote twice. Saying voters should "send it in early and then go out and vote."
Clyburn:I hope all my colleagues will join me in rejecting that advice & urging Americans to follow the law and vote once

Ranking mem. Steve Scalise opens remarks by saying that a pandemic will not stand in the way of Americans exercising their 1A rights. "America will confidently go to the polls in November"
He says state laws must be respected on election night and allowed to be implemented fairly

Scalise is going over the CDC guidelines for safe and healthy voting amid the pandemic. And also presenting the argument that if one can go to a Starbucks safely, then they can go to the polling places safely.

Absentee, mail-in ballots, early voting, those systems "have worked through years" and state officials know how to do do this safely, efficiently, Rep. Scalise says.

But he continues, "There's no pandemic related reason to change the way we vote in 2020" and he laments the Dem-passed legislation H.R. 1 "that would change that"

One of the requirements of HR 1? It mandates ballots are sent to all registered voters.

Actress and activist @kerrywashington is up first. She is not here as an artist or entertainer, but as an American who believes deeply in voting, she says. She is chair of When We All Vote.
whenweallvote.org/about-us/

From gerrymandering to voter roll purges that is what we're up against, Washington says.
Make your voice louder than the voices of those who disparage voting by mail while voting by mail themselves.
Inform people voting by mail isn't just convenient, it is their right.

Fund more for election security. At least $4B was recommended by Brennan Center. So far, funding has not come close to that for elec security.
And while many have paid tribute to John Lewis' legacy, she says the best way to honor him is to expand the Voting Rights Act.

Kristen Clarke of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is now up with opening remarks.
Since March, they have filed over 2 dozen lawsuits to protect the right to vote during the pandemic.

Should we fail to fully confront these barriers, the threat to democracy is more than palpable, she explains.

Inaction at the DOJ when it comes to voting rights means Congress must set baseline protections for voting rights. All states should be providing absentee voting options now, Clarke says.

Clarke: GA is the posterchild of voter dysfunction. Last min. polling changes, use of out of state vendor that made multiple errors in handling of absentee ballots. Voters who never received a ballot at all.

Clarke: In WI, thousands didn't receive absentee ballots, like in Milwaukee when open polling places went from over 100 in number to 5.

Now we turn to Mimi Marziana, president of the Texas Civil Rights Project. She will update the cmte today on the state's plans for the Nov. election in light of Covid.
State officials are failing. They are forcing too many Texans to choose between safety and right to vote.

Even worse, Texans wont be equally impacted. Black and Latinx communities, already struggling to beat back higher rates of infection, will bear the brunt of this oppression.

Texas has fought tooth and nail against voting by mail. It is 1 of just 6 states that have refused to open up remote voting options, Marziani says.

Marziani: "Only a lawyer can love the TX Supreme Court's final confusing word on this: "every voter must decide for herself if she's eligible to claim disability under existing laws. Lack of immunity to COVID can be one criteria but it is not the sole criteria."

She notes: Texas AG Ken Paxton sued local officials in Harris County, TX just last week to stop them from sending vote by mail applications to registered voters.
Background: courthousenews.com/texas-high-cou…

Some local officials in Texas have agreed to extend voting times and open locations but it is not nearly enough, she adds.

At least 750 polling locations have closed in Texas in recent years and where Black/Latinx pops are growing, they are seeing the vast majority of closures. And that was *before* the pandemic.
"There is just barely time for Texas to step up but that time is running short."

Dr Krutika Kuppali, vice chair of the Global Health Cmte recommends the following:
Feds must institute a national mask mandate
Expand testing/tracing capacity
Increase PPE
Address health disparities
Provide support to those in isolation, incl. sick leave, food, access to med care

She also calls for more drop boxes, more polling locations, and the following recommendations are science based:
- A uniform public health msg about what pollers can expect at polling sites is critical, that means hand hygiene and face masks that cover your NOSE AND MOUTH

- Polling locations should make sanitizer available to all
- Polling locations should be relocated from nursing homes or senior living facilities
- Polling locations must be able to accommodate social distancing

- Plans in place to minimize size/spread of lines on Election Day
- Plexiglass between voters and poll workers
- Disposable pens/pencils to mark ballots
If a person cannot vote by mail, they should verify with local officials what their options are.

A free, fair and safe election can be achieved with a science based, evidence based approach to the voting process, Kuppali adds. "We have the evidence, knowledge and science to keep our public safe."

Now we hear from Jay Ashcroft, the Missouri Secy of State.
Missouri's election are administered by 116 election authorities who make all logistical decisions for their jurisdiction, incl. the number of polling places needed, workers, supplies, he notes.

Larger facilities, curbside voting, and some sites in Missouri are testing drive-thru voting. "Voting in person is safe."
As Secy, he asked that absentee ballots be provided 1 week earlier, he supports mail-in ballots.

But he says he has concerns about the validity of mail-in ballots because they can be rejected due to user error, so he encourages people to vote in person if possible to ensure their vote counts.

Kerry Washington says what she hears from voters most often are questions over what opportunities they have to vote and whether their votes will be counted.

"No matter where you live, voters should have safe options to vote and be educated on what those options are. Check your registration status, find out what voting deadlines are in your state, find out if early voting is an option and then make a plan to vote." - @kerrywashington

Kristen Clarke says we must streamline the absentee voting process. There should be at least 2 weeks of expanded in- person early voting in every state.

Half of what was received in Missouri from CARES Act funding went to local officials to make sure they had PPE, plexi glass shields, increases in poll worker pay to cut back on attrition. The other half is sitting in reserve for now, AG Ashcroft says.

Does Missouri need more funding? Ashcroft says no because they wouldn't be able to use it effectively this close to the Nov. election. But he does ask feds to make a commitment to backstop funds if there are overages of unforeseen costs for states, for after the election.

Marziani: Going into Covid, TX was one of few states that required an excuse to vote by mail. Most other states expanded eligibility requirements, Texas refused to do so. The state is "pretending" that it will not see an increase in voting by mail this November.

And she notes, in the meantime, TX hasn't issued best practices to counties, there are a patchwork of vendors at play for machines. Some counties are even using own printers.

I need to pull back from live-tweeting shortly but you can catch a live-stream here: and of course, I will have a full report up for you later.