WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Senator Rick Scott announced the committees’ intervention in two separate lawsuits brought by Democrats against Georgia and Iowa challenging important election reform laws recently enacted by their state legislatures to improve existing election processes and build voter confidence.
In a joint statement, RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and NRSC Chairman Senator Rick Scott said:
“The Democrats have grossly mischaracterized the provisions and impact of Georgia’s and Iowa’s recent election reforms. The RNC, NRSC, and our partner committees look forward to fighting back against the Democrat lies and their lawyers’ incendiary and outlandish claims. Unfortunately, but unsurprisingly, many in the mainstream media have bought the Democrat narrative hook, line, and sinker in these dishonest attacks. But we are confident the courts will see through this partisan rhetoric and uphold both of the laws that reasonably balance access and integrity.
The contrast couldn’t be clearer. Voters are demanding secure elections, certainty in results, and state-led and governed processes. Republicans in states like Georgia and Iowa are doing the serious work of making meaningful election reforms that increase confidence, reduce the risk of fraud, and hold incompetent and rogue local election officials to account. But Democrats are crusading to put Washington in charge of elections, even if it means cancelling out the voters’ voices in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District in the name of partisan gains. We know the American people are with us. They support common-sense reforms to protect the integrity of our elections and we look forward to winning that argument in a court of law.”
Background:
These two suits come after Democrats brought dozens of mostly unsuccessful lawsuits challenging states’ important voting integrity measures. Notably, most of Democrats’ 2020 “Four Pillars” lawsuits challenging various absentee safeguards were unsuccessful, largely because of the efforts of the RNC, NRSC, and other party committees to defend the state laws and the integrity of our elections, even when Democrat officials refused to defend the laws on the books. We believe the challenges brought in Georgia and in Iowa are as baseless as the 2020 lawsuits and that courts will uphold these important reforms.
Each of these bills provide accountability for local election officials who have flouted the law or failed to properly run their elections. In Georgia for example, the long lines seen by voters in parts of the state can be largely attributed to incompetent local election administration. In Iowa, local county auditors have openly flouted the law and risked exposing voters’ personally identifiable information. More information is below:
Georgia:
- The RNC, NRSC, and Georgia GOP have moved to intervene in the Democrats’ public relations stunt of a lawsuit against Georgia in federal court.
- Georgia Senate Bill 202 is a comprehensive election reform bill that creates a more transparent, efficient, and effective election process. Among the bill’s provisions:
- Expanding the number of early voting days.
- Mandating an Advance Voting Saturday.
- Allowing observation of the tabulation, scanning, and duplication of ballots.
- Allowing the preprocessing of ballots prior to Election Day.
- Allowing voters to continue to vote absentee with no excuse.
- Providing reasonable voter ID requirements when applying for and returning absentee ballots. Voters can provide their Driver’s License number, last four digits of their social security number, or a copy of another acceptable form of identification. 75% of voters support voter ID laws, including 60% of Democrats and 69% of Black voters.
- Prohibiting ballot harvesting and protecting the security of the ballot by prohibiting anyone other than an immediate family member from being in possession of an electors’ ballot.
- Despite Democrats’ false outrage, the solicitation zone includes the giving of food or water by the proper personnel, not political activists. Election workers are still allowed to provide water and it allows for self-service water stations.
Iowa:
- The RNC, NRSC, NRCC, and Iowa GOP have joined to fight yet another baseless lawsuit filed by the Democrats against Iowa in state court.
- The committees will defend challenges to SF 413, a comprehensive election reform recently enacted into law by the Iowa legislature. Among the bill’s provisions:
- Establishes uniform election procedures across Iowa’s 99 counties.
- Holds rogue county election officials accountable for flouting state election laws and directives.
- Allows for the pre-processing of absentee ballots, including the opening of envelopes and tabulation the Monday before the election.
- Provides reasonable regulations for the use of absentee ballot drop boxes.
- Further restricts ballot harvesting in the state.
- Enhances Iowa’s voter registration list maintenance practices by requiring more frequent verification of registrations and reporting to state legislature.
- Improves data collection and reporting to the Secretary of State’s office.
- Critics of SF 413 have pointed to the changes in early voting. However, Iowa will still allow voters to have 20 days of early voting which keeps the state above the national average for pre-election day voting. Iowa also continues to have no-excuse absentee voting.
- Democrats want a one-way ratchet which would prevent states from ever reducing the number of days or hours for voting, regardless of how compelling the reason.
The RNC and other party committees beat the Democrats in every Iowa lawsuit in which they participated leading up to the 2020 election, reining in rogue country auditors that put voters’ personal information at risk.
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