Ranking Member Morelle Opening Remarks As Delivered at Georgia Elections Field Hearing

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"Good afternoon, and thank you first off all to the people of Georgia for hosting us, and to Chairman Steil, for welcoming us today.

We meet for what is the ninth elections related hearing this Committee has held in just this Congress in a little over six months. Once again, we'll discuss conspiracy theories about hypothetical election insecurity, and the majority will push their now familiar anti-voter agenda.

The only difference now is that we have taken the circus on the road.

One might ask: Why are we here in Georgia?

The answer is simple.

We are here because, in 2020, Joe Biden won and Donald Trump lost.

There was no widespread voter fraud in Georgia. There were no suitcases full of fake ballots. No voting machines changed any votes. In fact, we only know of one possible crime that took place, because it was recorded on tape.

Donald Trump didn't win Georgia, of course. The results confirmed that. A Trump-requested recount confirmed that. A statewide audit confirmed that. Multiple investigations have confirmed that.

But instead of condemning this blatant attempt to steal an election, the Georgia legislature responded to the former president's lies by proposing and passing SB 202 in early 2021.

SB 202 affected almost every method of voting in Georgia.

For example, SB 202 dramatically limited the number of drop boxes voters can use, especially in significantly Black communities, to return their ballots.

The law banned individuals and groups from giving out water or food to voters waiting in line, sometimes for hours, in the hot Georgia sun to vote.

SB 202 also allows any voter to challenge the eligibility of any other voter--with no limit on the number of challenges allowed. One man alone in Forsyth County has challenged the eligibility of over 13,000 valid voters.

Dr. Kathleen Ruth, a GOP-appointed member of Fulton County's elections board and a witness here today, herself received a voter challenge because of SB 202.

These indiscriminate challenges do not just threaten Georgians' access to the ballot--they overwhelm election administrators who must respond to tens of thousands of unwarranted challenges within a handful of days.

It is important that our voter rolls are accurate and up to date. But it should be the role of elections administrators to ensure proper election administration, not some local election denying conspiracy theorist who has been fooled by the former President and his enablers.

Letting vigilantes subject their neighbors, based on no evidence, to state-enforced inquisitions in the name of election integrity is a nightmare out of an Orwellian novel.

Unfortunately, this double speak is in line with modern Republican orthodoxy.

SB 202's provisions simultaneously limit voter access while overburdening election administration. And overburdened election administration, in turn, further jeopardizes voter access.

The Big Lie origins of SB 202 mirror the Big Lie origins of the majority's ACE Act. And the damaging effects of SB 202 on Georgia voters will be imposed upon all Americans if the ACE Act is enacted nationally.

I have to give my majority colleagues credit, if nothing else, for their boldness. Most thieves come in the middle of the night, but here we are, in broad daylight.

We are at the scene of the crime. We are holding a hearing in Georgia, where President Trump--in his now infamous and corrupt call to Secretary Raffensperger--tried to irrevocably damage the integrity of American elections.

If our majority truly cared about restoring confidence in our elections, perhaps they would finally confront their twice indicted leader for his own behavior. But I won't hold my breath. We should do better. We must do better.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I yield back."

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