BAKERSFIELD, CA – Today, Congressman David G. Valadao (CA-21) hosted the Ranking Member on House Administration Rodney Davis (IL-13) for an election integrity round table with local election officials as part of the Faith in Elections Project, an initiative to promote voter confidence in our elections systems and outcomes through education, engagement, and reform. Participants discussed the growing distrust in American elections, local election challenges, and the American Confidence in Elections Act.

“Making sure people ave faith in our elections is something we should all take very seriously,” said Congressman Valadao. “We need to give states and localities tools to increase transparency in the way they conduct elections. This roundtable discussion highlighted the need for important reforms to California’s election system, like requiring an ID to vote and putting safeguards on same day registration. Thank you to Ranking Member Davis for making the trip to Kern County to have these important conversations on election integrity reform and for his continued leadership on this critical issue.”

“I thank my friend and colleague Congressman Valadao for hosting today’s roundtable to discuss the importance of election integrity and how the American Confidence in Elections Act gives states tools they can implement to restore faith in elections, removes outdated federal policies, and makes the biggest legislative effort in a generation to protect political free speech,” said Ranking Member Davis. “At the same time, we must ensure states like California are running free, fair, and secure elections by providing tools to end ballot harvesting and improve list maintenance so only eligible voters are able to cast their ballots – and no one else.”

Rep. Valadao and Ranking Member Davis were joined in the roundtable by: 

Tulare County District Attorney, Tim Ward

Kings County District Attorney, Keith Fagundes

Kern County District Attorney, Cynthia Zimmer

Elections Attorney at Bell, McAndrews & Hiltachk, LLP, Ashley Titus

Representative from Senator Shannon Grove

Representative from Kern County Board of Supervisors

Kern County Registrar’s Office

Kings County Registrar’s Office

Background:

The House Committee on House Administration has jurisdiction over federal elections. The American Confidence in Elections Act is the primary republican election integrity bill that focuses on the importance of strong election integrity reforms that bolster voter confidence in our elections while respecting federalism and the constitution. The American Confidence in Elections Act:

• Provides states with tools to boost election integrity and removes outdated federal policies that get in their way.
• Requires photo ID to vote in person or request absentee ballot, requires annual list maintenance, prohibits same-day registration & ballot harvesting, prohibits automatically mailed ballots, requires post-election audits.
• Prohibits non-citizen voting, allows states to use REAL ID as proof of citizenship, and directs bipartisan EAC standards board to establish a federal forum that will help states discuss best practices. 

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