Press Release
JANUARY 4, 2007
CONGRESSWOMAN SUSAN
DAVIS INTRODUCES
ELECTION INTEGRITY LEGISLATION
ELECTION INTEGRITY LEGISLATION
Top state election officials would be banned from federal campaign activity
WASHINGTON - To restore integrity to federal elections, Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-CA) introduced legislation to prohibit top state election officials from participating in federal campaigns.
"Imagine if someone could be both the coach and the referee in a game," said Davis. "That would certainly not be fair. Why then would we allow for one person to both officiate an election and chair a candidate's federal campaign committee? Someone who has a vested interest in a federal campaign should not also be able to oversee an election in which that candidate runs. Congress needs to take this long-overdue step to restore the faith of the American people in the election system."
Recent elections have brought examples of leading state election officials with disturbing conflicts of interest. In some of these cases, chief state election officials have held official positions on the campaign committees of federal candidates, such as state committee chair.
Davis is deeply concerned that this fundamental conflict of interest prevents such an official from ensuring a fair and accurate election and could undermine the integrity of federal elections.
The Federal Election Integrity Act (H.R. 101) would prohibit chief state election officials from serving on federal campaign committees or engaging in other political activity on behalf of federal candidates in any election over which the official has supervisory authority.
If the bill is enacted into law, the Federal Election Commission would oversee enforcement and could issue fines for violations of the law.