Congressional Caucus Election Integrity for America Report
Tenney Releases Comprehensive Election Integrity Caucus Report
January 26, 2023
Press Release
Washington, DC – Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-24), Co-Chair of the Election Integrity Caucus, released the Election Integrity Caucus’ Midterm Election Report with fellow Co-Chair Mike Garcia (CA-27).
In the report, Congresswoman Tenney details key takeaways and recommendations from the 2022 midterm elections, including what worked in states like Florida and Georgia, and what policies failed in states like Arizona and Nevada.
Among the report’s key findings:
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, state legislatures and governors across the country made last-minute changes to their election processes, unleashing chaos and confusion on election administration.
Several states, including Georgia, Texas, and Florida, passed election integrity laws in response to the chaos of the 2020 pandemic election and to restore faith. Other states, however, have tried to make permanent the failed policies that led to chaos in the first place, with devastating consequences for election integrity.
Despite the fearmongering, Georgia’s post-SB202 election administration was a win for voters and election integrity. Georgia reported a historic early turnout that rivaled presidential cycles, forcing many on the left to walk back now their false and incendiary claims about Georgia SB 202.
Between Hurricanes Ian and Nicole, Florida organized and executed a safe and secure midterm election. Preliminary numbers have Florida turnout of over 7.5M or 49.3% of their voting-eligible population. With only a minor deadline change for the first canvass—an extension of 2 days in the 45 counties under a state of emergency for Nicole—Florida timely delivered their election night reports inspiring observers around the country to ask states like Nevada and Arizona, “why can’t you be more like Florida?”
Among the most troubling practices in New York is the lax verification of voters requesting absentee ballots. New York requires only basic information (name, DOB, borough, and zip). With no other personally identifiable information required, there are no safeguards against third parties applying for an absentee ballot unbeknownst to the voter. And voter knowledge and consent to receive an absentee ballot are critical, especially as we learn that Democrats who voted by mail (21%) were more likely than Republicans (12%) and Independents (10%) to engage in ballot harvesting.
“A look at what went right and what went wrong in election administration is the first step to securing our elections and restoring voter confidence. The Election Integrity Caucus’ 2022 Midterm Review is a look at the positive efforts of states like Georgia, Texas, and Florida, which are working to implement policies that promote fair, free, and transparent elections. It is also a look at what went wrong in states like New York and California, which implemented policies that encouraged chaos at the ballot box and undermined voter confidence. In this review, we applaud the work of the legislatures, chief election officers, and executives who got it right by prioritizing election integrity—guaranteeing our elections are secure by making it harder to cheat and more accessible by making it easier to vote. Election integrity increases voter confidence, which in turn increases voter turnout, and that is why the Election Integrity Caucus researched and published this 2022 Midterm Review,” said Congresswoman Tenney.
“As a co-chair of the Election Integrity Caucus, I take matters of our elections and the electorate’s faith in our elections very seriously. The findings in the Election Integrity Caucus’ 2022 Midterms Review are eye-opening but not surprising. Faith in America’s elections continues to plummet – among both Democrats and Republicans – and this trend continues to get worse. In Congress, I vow to continue focusing on policies that strengthen election security and restore faith in our election system,” said Congressman Mike Garcia.
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