Federal Election Reform in 2023
From voting rights to election integrity to the Electoral Count Act, election reform has been a hot issue in Congress since 2020. Accounting for long negotiation and implementation timelines, the 2023 session will likely be Congress’ final opportunity to influence the policy that will govern the 2024 presidential election. This panel discusses the appetite in Congress for additional election reform work and what – if anything – a likely divided Congress can agree to.
Key Quotes:
“Election officials still held a very safe and secure election in 2020 only because of the emergency funding that Congress was able to allocate to them. This is an emergency. We need to start thinking about elections as a year over year expense the way we talk about highways and hospitals...” –-- Elise Wirkus
“The federal funding, if we’re going to get it ahead of the 2024 presidential election, the time is now... If Congress doesn't act by the end of the year, it’s hard to see how we get federal funding, especially in time that it could actually impact the 2024 election.” - Matthew Weil
Speakers:
Lisa Desjardins - U.S. Capitol Correspondent, PBS NewsHour
Matt Germer - Resident Elections Fellow, Governance Program, the R Street Institute
Monica Holman Evans - Executive Director, DC Board of Elections
Matthew Weil - Executive Director, BPC's Democracy Program
Elise Wirkus - Legislative Director, Issue One