Committee conference agrees to advance revised election-protection language; signatures pending

A Government Operations committee conference agreed to move forward with the revised "a" and "b" versions of proposed election-protection language and to complete signatures before an up-or-down vote, participants said.

The decision came after Speaker 1 said the three-member group would "take the revised version that Rick presented earlier... the a and the b, and go with that," adding concern that broader language could invite judicial review. The speaker also urged finalizing the matter quickly because "after today, Senator Morley won't be able to be with us for about 8 days."

Why it matters: Committee members debated the tradeoff between narrower language that may avoid legal challenge and broader language that could capture more conduct. Speaker 5 said the proposal was "narrower than California's," arguing that the state has a "compelling state interest of protecting our elections." That point framed the members' decision to favor a more tailored draft.

Process and next steps: Speaker 6 explained procedural options: as a Senate-originating bill it goes to the House for an up-or-down vote; if both chambers approve, it would proceed to the governor. If either chamber votes it down, leadership could convene a new committee of conference. On signatures, Speaker 2 asked whether signatures were the remaining formality, and members confirmed signatures remained to finalize the committee report. Speaker 5 said they had messaged John Bloomer to ask about DocuSign or a virtual option; Speaker 1 said waiting until Friday for in-person signing was acceptable.

No formal roll-call vote appears in the transcript. Speakers confirmed a verbal vote was not required and focused on completing signatures to record the committee's report.

Quotations that capture the exchange include Speaker 1: "the revised version that Rick presented earlier... the a and the b, and go with that," and Speaker 5: "it is narrower than California's... the compelling state interest of protecting our elections is quite compelling." The conference was closed with Speaker 2 saying, "So I guess that concludes this committee conference. Thank you, everyone. We got it."