WASHINGTON – Committee on House Administration Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) today hosted a virtual election administration roundtable with officials from Georgia. Davis, along with his Georgia colleagues, discussed election administration issues with Secretary of State Brad Ruffensperger, Election Assistance Commissioner Christy McCormick, and several local election officials in Georgia.

This is the second virtual roundtable in a series titled "Administering Safe Elections During a Pandemic" where Davis hears from local election officials on the challenges they are facing and works to bring resources to help them as they prepare to administer the 2020 election. Davis hosted one earlier this month with Illinois election officials and will host another with Wisconsin officials next week.

CLICK HERE or image above to watch

"Today, we heard local election administrators, state officials, and federal lawmakers engaging about the challenges they're faced with administering elections during a pandemic," said Davis. "Fulton County made headlines during the recent primary for closing polling locations, significant issues with voters not receiving absentee ballots, and inadequate staffing. I was glad we were able to speak with a few of their board members about the steps being taken to address these issues and I'm hopeful their election will go more smoothly in November. Additionally, I was encouraged to hear our local, state, and federal officials discuss how they are working with their local post office and there is not a concern that the post office will not be able to handle the increase in mail-in ballots. This is the kind of communication we need ahead of Election Day and I'm hopeful I can continue to be a resource to local officials across the country."

Fulton County Letter
On July 22, Davis sent a letter to the chair of the Fulton County Registration and Elections Board concerning many of the issues reported in their most recent primary. The letter has gone unanswered, but Davis was encouraged by what he heard from their local board members who joined today's event.

Postal Service
Davis has noted that increasing funding for the postal service, which Democrats continue to say is critical to election administration, will not solve the issues we're seeing with ballots not being returned on time. This was reiterated during today's event. CLICK HERE for more.

EASE Act
The event also made clear that state and local officials could use help ensuring they have a safe way for people to vote in person this fall. Earlier this month, Davis and several House Republicans introduced the Emergency Assistance for Safe Elections (EASE) Act to help states ensure those who want to vote in person can do so safely and make mail-in voting more secure by cleaning their voter rolls. The EASE Act provides the assistance state and local election administrators have been asking Congress for while putting commonsense restrictions on what the funding can go towards. Davis is encouraging this bill to be included as part of the negotiations for the next coronavirus relief package.