Summit County elections director tells House committee observers bolster transparency

Lance Reed, director of the Summit County Board of Elections, told the House Committee on House Administration that congressional election observers help preserve transparency in how ballots are administered and tabulated.

"I am before you today to emphasize the important role that all observers play," Reed said in brief testimony to the committee. Reed identified himself as an election official with more than 13 years' experience, including nearly six years as director.

Reed told the committee that Summit County, Ohio — which lies in the 13th Congressional District — had an observer appointed by the chair of the Committee on House Administration for the Nov. 5, 2024 general election and that the observer "was in our office the entirety of election day." He said the county's board "had a positive experience with the observer appointed to our office," and added that election officials and the public should "embrace all observers" for the role they play in ensuring administrators follow the law and maintain integrity.

Reed also noted the board is familiar with the program authorized under the Congressional Observer Access Act of 2024 and said the statute had been signed roughly two years earlier, in his account. He closed by thanking the committee, offering to take questions and, by way of a light aside, thanking the room for its air conditioning.

The hearing record for this segment contains only Reed's statement; no vote, motion, or challenge to his account appears in the transcript.