An unspecified number of Capitol Hill aides are being deployed as “official House election observers in close, or particularly cumbersome congressional elections, in the coming weeks,” according to Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), the ranking Republican member of the House Administration Committee.
“While the Constitution grants the House of Representatives this responsibility and authority, the Constitution grants the states primary authority over the administration of federal elections. Committee Republicans respect the limited nature of Congress’ role in this space and are committed to safeguarding states’ vital constitutional authority,” Davis wrote.
“As in past elections, the House will use this legal authority to credential and deploy trained congressional staffers to serve as official House election observers in close, or particularly cumbersome congressional elections, in the coming weeks. This allows us to prepare for the possibility that a candidate could later contest the race in the House of Representatives.”
The Illinois Republican said the panel “takes seriously its responsibility regarding federal elections, and we are committed to making sure all lawful ballots in congressional races are counted fairly, accurately, and according to law.”
“Our credentialed observers have been trained by experts in election observation and instructed that they play no formal or advocacy role in the administration of the election or the vote counting process; they are to function exclusively as observers,” he said.
The congressional observers “must be granted access to view the process even if state law credentialing, partisan quota, or access requirements exist to the contrary,” he said.
It isn’t known whether Democrats, who control the House, will be sending members of their staff as election observers. A spokesman for Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), the administration panel’s chairman, couldn’t be reached for comment.
Davis’s announcement comes as the 2022 midterm election campaign winds down, with Republicans holding what appears to be a sizable overall lead in polling and are thus expected to regain the House majority they lost in 2018. The GOP’s prospects for retaking the Senate majority also have been brightening in recent weeks.
Davis had been favored to succeed Lofgren as chairman of the administration panel, but he lost a GOP primary to Rep. Mary Miller (R-Ill.). The two Illinois Republicans were redrawn into the same district by Democrats who control the Illinois state legislature.
Miller was endorsed by former President Donald Trump.