On July 28, 2021, Gowri Ramachandran, senior counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice, testified before the Committee on House Administration about disinformation and the danger that the growing threat of election subversion poses to election officials.
Congress and the federal government have an important role to play in protecting these officials. Funding can be provided to help keep election officials and workers safe. Resources can also be provided to combat disinformation, through funding for auditable paper ballot systems and supporting the work of agencies like the EAC and CISA. Finally, Congress can protect the local guardians of democracy from partisan attacks, through legislation such as the For the People Act that sets a national baseline for voter access and vote counting procedures, and that can incorporate direct protections from partisan removals. These are the first steps that we must take in order to protect our election officials, and to protect our democracy.
