Washington, D.C. - U.S. Rep. Brian Baird issued the following statement on H. Res. 728, the sense of the Congress resolution considered in the House today regarding postponement of elections:

“Our nation must do everything possible to ensure that terrorists do not disrupt our elections.  If there were to be a change in an election, that decision, under the Constitution, should only be made by the Congress, not the executive or judiciary.  I was as concerned as anyone about recent suggestions that the President should consider the possibility of postponing elections and I believe it was right for the Congress to officially register opposition.  Unfortunately, the resolution passed by the House today, while well intentioned and broadly supported, was deeply flawed. 

Congress stating officially that elections shall never be delayed by a terrorist act may sound definitive, even defiant, but the fact is that what matters most is the fair and accurate counting of each individual’s vote, not merely holding an election on a given date.  Without assurance that all votes are registered and counted, an election is meaningless or worse.  Failing to recognize that essential ingredient, the resolution that passed the House was inadequate at best, dangerous at worst. 

We need to seriously consider if a Presidential or Congressional election result would be valid if terrorists, or for that matter an earthquake, destroyed major cities in California or another state on or just before election day.  If large numbers of citizens cannot vote or cannot have their votes fairly and fully recorded, the results do not reflect the will of the electorate. 

What, then, is the point of saying we had an election as scheduled?  Ironically, in trying to ensure that terrorists cannot influence our election dates, by rigidly adhering to a fixed date regardless of whether or not everyone’s votes can be counted, we may well be creating a scenario where terrorists are enabled to influence the outcome of our elections if not the date.  Which is more important?

The second flaw with the resolution was that it did not explicitly assert Congress’ constitutional right to make decisions about federal elections.  Instead, for unexplained reasons, the bill merely stated that no single individual or agency should be given authority to postpone elections.   I agree with that statement, but Congress missed an important opportunity to reaffirm its own authority and responsibility in such matters.

Few if any other members of Congress have dedicated more time to the question of how our government would respond to a terrorist attack.  While I am pleased that there was a quick response to the issue of potential election delays, it is unfortunate that the resolution itself was poorly conceived, failed to defend congressional responsibilities under the Constitution, and may actually make it easier for terrorist to impact our election outcomes in ways that distort the will of the electorate.  I raised these issues in the debate on the resolution, but as it was brought to the floor under a procedure that did not allow for amendments, I felt, in the interest of assuring that elections are truly accurate and fair, the only responsible choice was to oppose the bill and insist on something better.”

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