After messy race, Tenney forms ‘election integrity’ caucus opposed to Dems’ voting reforms

Washington – Rep. Claudia Tenney emerged today as the Republican leader of a new House caucus that will focus on election integrity while opposing Democratic plans for sweeping voting reforms.

Tenney, R-New Hartford, said she will co-chair the Election Integrity Caucus with Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Calif.

The Republicans won two of the closest House elections in the nation last year. Both races were decided weeks after Election Day because of the time it took to count mail-in ballots during the coronavirus pandemic.

Tenney won New York’s 22nd Congressional District by 109 votes and was sworn into office on Feb. 11, more than three months after the election. Garcia won his election in Los Angeles County by 333 votes.

The election between Tenney and former Rep. Anthony Brindisi, D-Utica, exposed deep flaws in New York’s voting system and prompted calls for reforms after a series of embarrassing mistakes by election officials.

The U.S. Department of Justice said last month that it plans to file a civil lawsuit against Oneida County in Tenney’s district over federal election law violations.

Justice Department lawyers said the county likely disenfranchised at least 2,400 voters in the 22nd District by failing to process their voter registration forms, according to a copy of the letter reviewed by syracuse.com | The Post-Standard.

Tenney today blamed the “glaring administrative mistakes” in her election on new mandates put in place by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to expand vote-by-mail options during the pandemic.

She claimed Democrats are trying to nationalize those mandates through H.R. 1, a sweeping election reform and ethics bill that passed March 4 in the Democratic-controlled House.

The bill would require states to automatically register eligible voters, offer same-day voter registration, allow no-excuse absentee voting, and provide at least 15 days of early voting before Election Day.

The bill would also limit states from purging registered voters from their rolls and restrict partisan gerrymandering of congressional districts.

Tenney claimed today the Democratic bill would “open the door to greater administrative mistakes and fraud.” She said the intent of the new caucus is to “shape the debate around election reform.”

The caucus will be open to all House members, a spokeswoman for Tenney said. The caucus did not recruit additional members before today.

Garcia is among 147 House Republicans who voted against certifying the Electoral College results from the 2020 presidential election.

Garcia had called for a closer examination of the presidential election results in six states where he claimed election laws were altered by bureaucrats without approval from state lawmakers.

Dozens of states have proposed changing their voting laws in the wake of the 2020 election.

One of the most controversial laws, signed by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in Georgia, gives the state more authority over local election boards and the secretary of state.

President Joe Biden and the leaders of major corporations based in Atlanta – including Coca-Cola – have called the law a step backward for voting rights. Major League Baseball moved its 2021 All-Star Game from Atlanta as part of the backlash to the law.