Meanwhile, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), the primary Democratic sponsor, said she and other senators are working on refining the legislation, but noted that lawmakers have a short window of opportunity to pass the Secure Elections Act before the midterms reset the legislative calendar. “We have a new version [of the bill] coming out, and we just ask you to work with us; I would love to have it get passed in the lame duck,” Klobuchar said. “For people that want to delay it or stall it beyond that, well that’s up to you because then we’ll have a new Congress.” The Secure Elections Act looked poised for a floor vote in August or September before a Rules Committee markup was abruptly canceled. Blunt’s staff told FCW at the time that Republican senators were balking at some of the provisions after receiving complaints from state and local election officials, while Reuters reported that the White House came out against the bill at the last minute for similar reasons. Lankford and Klobuchar have continued to fight for the bill’s passage, but several prominent Democratic senators, including original co-sponsor Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), signed on to rival legislation spearheaded by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
Many state election officials have called for consistent federal funding to upgrade voting and election systems, while simultaneously complaining that provisions that mandate what type of machines they can buy or how to audit election results represent federal overreach.
“[Auditing] was a big concern to many of the state election officials who contacted us when we thought we had a bill that everybody agreed on,” Blunt said. “I personally think that there should be a paper trail, something that can be counted after the election. I also believe that’s where everybody is headed whether they’re there right now or not.”
Full Article: Secure Elections Act sponsors eye lame duck session — FCW.