I was thinking back on my posts on Mitch McConnell (aka Moscow Mitch) and election security and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s opposition to what has been called a bipartisan election bill. One answer to why he opposes it is that it is really a Democratic bill.

H.R.2722 was passed by the House last month and has been “Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration” on June 28 according to Congress.gov

It is usually described as a bipartisan bill but if you look at the roll call, it was actually passed with 1 Republican vote and 224 Democratic votes.

The bill summary provided by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress does not sound partisan at all to me but here it is.

Introduced in House (05/14/2019)
Securing America’s Federal Elections Act or the SAFE Act

This bill addresses election security through grant programs and requirements for voting systems and paper ballots.

The bill establishes requirements for voting systems, including that systems (1) use individual, durable, voter-verified paper ballots; (2) make a voter’s marked ballot available for inspection and verification by the voter before the vote is cast; (3) ensure that individuals with disabilities are given an equivalent opportunity to vote, including with privacy and independence, in a manner that produces a voter-verified paper ballot; and (4) be manufactured in the United States.

The National Science Foundation must award grants to study, test, and develop accessible voter-verified paper ballot voting and best practices to enhance the accessibility of such voting for individuals with disabilities, for voters whose primary language is not English, and for voters with difficulties in literacy.

The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) must award grants to states to (1) replace certain voting systems, carry out voting system security improvements, and implement and model best practices for ballot design, ballot instructions, and the testing of ballots; and (2) conduct risk-limiting audits.

States may use elections requirements payments to carry out activities related to election security.

The EAC must provide for the testing of voting system hardware and software and decertify such technology that does not meet guidelines.

The lone Republican supporter was Congressman Brian Mast of Florida. Do the other Republican Representatives care about election security?

Are there Republican Senators who care? Do they care enough to introduce or at least co-sponsor a bill? Would Mitch McConnell let the Senate vote on it?

Do most Republicans oppose election security in general?