Republicans in the United States House of Representatives are utilizing their oversight authority to send dozens of observers to monitor polling stations and ballot-counting processes across the country ahead of the upcoming midterm elections.
According to Just The News, the effort is being led by Congressman Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), the ranking Republican on the House Administration Committee and an outgoing member of Congress who lost renomination earlier this year to fellow incumbent Mary Miller (R-Ill.).
The observers being sent by Miller are also tasked with investigating the manner in which federal agencies are implementing measures to expand voter registration, as ordered by Joe Biden in an executive order. Some observers will include staffers from Capitol Hill.
“As in past elections, the House will use this legal authority to credential and deploy trained congressional staffers to serve as official House election observers in close, or particularly cumbersome congressional elections, in the coming weeks,” Davis wrote in a letter to Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose on October 20th. “This allows us to prepare for the possibility that a candidate could later contest the race in the House of Representatives.”
“The Committee takes seriously its responsibility regarding federal elections,” Davis continued, “and we are committed to making sure all lawful ballots in congressional races are counted fairly, accurately, and according to law.”
Although the House Administration Committee has used this authority in the past, Republicans claim that this year’s effort will be more comprehensive than any effort seen before. Timothy Monahan, staff director for the House Administration Committee, said that ”the faith in elections initiative is an important effort by House Republicans to hear directly from state and local election officials on what the best practices are in administrating elections,” as well as “calling out practices and efforts that undermine faith in our elections by not having necessary checks and balances in place.”
This move comes amidst ongoing fears among the Republican base that voter fraud is still alive and well in the United States in the aftermath of the disastrous 2020 presidential election. Prior to that year’s election, many statewide executives, such as governors and secretaries of state, unilaterally made changes to state election laws and procedures using the coronavirus pandemic as an excuse to expand mail-in ballots, ballot-harvesting, ballot drop-boxes, and other practices that are widely susceptible to fraud. Several states, including Georgia, Florida, Texas, and Iowa have since passed election integrity laws that aim to crack down on such measures and restore confidence in the election process.