True North Law’s Thor Hearne Testifies Before Congress

The subject of Hearne’s testimony is the first “Top Takeaway” reported by the U.S. House Subcommittee on Elections

On May 24, the United States House of Representatives Subcommittee on Elections held a hearing on “American Confidence in Elections: Ensuring Every Eligible Vote Counts.” The Subcommittee requested that Thor Hearne testify at the hearing as an expert in election law and litigation. Hearne served as served as a legal advisor to Secretary of State James Baker and President Jimmy Carter on the Commission on Federal Election Reform in 2005 (the Carter-Baker Commission). Hearne was also President George W. Bush’s national election counsel in 2004 and, in 2015-16, was hired by Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring (a Democrat) to defend Virginia’s election reform legislation federal litigation.

The Committee’s report to the media listed Hearne’s testimony as the hearing’s first “Top Takeaway.” The Committee reported that the most important issue discussed was voter identification, which “is important to ensure election security.”

Committee Chair Laurel Lee asked Hearne, “We’ve had a series of hearings already on elections and one thing that’s become apparent from the hearings is that there’s actually broad consensus on both sides of the aisle that some form of ID is appropriate and important. Can you share your perspective on different types of ID, and if certain types of ID, you believe, are more effective or preferable to others?” Hearne responded that It is recommended to have “government-issued photo ID with identification of the voter, and you have measures to make sure if one individual does not have access to that, that is given to them for free.” See https://cha.house.gov/media/press-releases/top-takeaways-american-confidence-elections-hearing-non-citizen-voting