House Republican unveils plan to expose election vendors, foreign connections

EXCLUSIVE: A conservative House Republican is seeking to enact sweeping new election transparency measures before November’s midterm elections.

Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., will introduce legislation Thursday requiring a small federal agency, known as the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, to establish a public database that would disclose basic information about private vendors running federal elections. 

Norman’s Election Infrastructure Transparency Act would require the new database to report the names of all private election vendors, details of the vendor contracts and their ownership structures, including the mandatory disclosure of any foreign ties, within 30 days of an election. 

Norman, who is running to be South Carolina’s next governor, argues his transparency-focused legislation is necessary to combat foreign adversaries attempting to interfere with U.S. elections. Russia, China and Iran all sought to influence the outcome of the 2024 presidential election, according to multiple reports.

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If a transparency database is not created, proponents of the legislation say lawmakers and election officials could be left in the dark about whether foreign money or potential foreign ties are present among the vendors that make up the country’s election infrastructure.

“The American people deserve to know exactly who is involved in administering their elections,” Norman said in a statement. “Foreign adversaries are not sitting on the sidelines. They are actively looking for ways to exploit weaknesses in our system.”

The legislation would apply to the 2026 elections and every election cycle in the future. The measure would also cut off federal funding to any state that does not comply. 

The Election Assistance Commission is a bipartisan agency tasked with certifying voting hardware and distributing election infrastructure grants to states.

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Norman’s legislation could face obstacles to being signed into law due to anticipated opposition from Democratic lawmakers, who have repeatedly criticized GOP-authored election integrity measures.

House Republicans, however, have floated multiple election-related proposals that could be included in an anticipated budget reconciliation package. Ideas circulated by the House Administration Committee include granting funding to states for verifying voter registration data and conducting post-election audits. 

The flurry of election integrity and transparency measures comes as congressional Republicans are pushing for the passage of the Trump-backed SAVE America Act. The legislation would require proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections and enact a nationwide voter ID, among other provisions. 

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The House-passed measure has stalled in the Senate due to Democratic opposition and is not expected to get the votes to overcome the upper chamber’s 60-vote threshold.

Some Republicans have advocated for passing parts of the SAVE America Act in a GOP-only budget reconciliation bill, but the legislative maneuver’s stringent requirements could derail that plan.