SC Oklahoma News

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Tom Cole (OK-04) today reintroduced the Protect American Election Administration Act. If enacted, this legislation would block the private takeover of government election administration, protect individual states' voting laws, prevent private funding for ballot harvesting or curing and prevent the use of election infrastructure to conduct ideologically motivated voter outreach campaigns.

"When Americans go to the ballot box, they should have full confidence in the election systems that are the bedrock of our great republic," said Cole. "After a tumultuous 2020 election cycle and as we enter the 2024 presidential election cycle, it is clear that this confidence has taken a hit. The Protect American Election Administration Act would prevent political agendas funded by private dollars from interfering with individual states' non-partisan voting processes and ensure Americans have the confidence that their vote truly counts."

Original cosponsors of the Protect American Election Administration Act include Reps. Claudia Tenney (NY-24), Byron Donalds (FL-19), Jake LaTurner (KS-2), Tracey Mann (KS-1), John Rutherford (FL-5), Virginia Foxx (NC-5) and Pete Sessions (TX-17)

Bill text is available here.

Background:

During the 2020 election, election administration in the United States was politically influenced because of multi-millions in private spending by private individuals with political agendas. In return, the private funds expended by many election administration offices were used to implement insecure voting methods, harvest or cure ballots and conduct extensive outreach campaigns to benefit the donors' preferred candidates. These funds were targeted in Democratic counties to increase turnout in areas that would be beneficial to Democratic candidates.

Original source can be found here.