Mr. GRAHAM of Florida. Mr. President, today I rise to introduce the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act.
In 2000, Florida grabbed the national spotlight as an unfortunate example of an electoral process gone awry. The question of who would assume our Nation's highest office became contingent on such things as whether a chad was bulging or hanging. In the aftermath of that debacle, Americans demand that Congress improve the accuracy and integrity of our electoral process. Congress responded with the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), which we passed in 2002.
HAVA aimed to modernize our electoral system and there have been some positive developments. Under the law, States have replaced punch card and lever voting systems with modern computer voting machines. Modernization, however, has failed to overcome all the pitfalls seen in recent elections. In 2002, Floridians were subject to another failure of our electoral process when a software error failed to court approximately 100,000 votes.
As it now stands, computer-voting systems--including the popular touch screen models--are not mandated to include a paper record verifying voter intent. In the absence of a paper trail, confirming the accuracy of a computer voting machine is very difficult, sometimes even impossible. Further, voting irregularities, security intrusions and electronic errors can go unnoticed. We have a duty to our democracy to continue to address challenges that threaten to undermine the security and reliability of our electoral system.
The Voter Confidence & Increased Accessibility Act renews our commitment to fulfilling that obligation. It will take us one step closer to our ultimate goal: ensuring that every vote really counts. This legislation responds to a set of challenges presented by computer voting systems. It would require all voting systems produce a verifiable paper record. States would also be given assistance in meeting this standard through funds dedicated to HAVA.
The Voter Confidence & Increased Accessibility Act also stipulates several other provisions to ensure that every vote really counts. It would prohibit the use of unreported software and wireless communication devices in all voting systems. It would also restrict electronic communications from voting machines, permitting outgoing transmissions of vote totals only.
The legislation specifies that voting systems must comply with these standards in time for the November 2004 general election. In the event that a locality is unable to get their computer voting systems compliant by this deadline, they are authorized to use a paper system as an interim measure. The Federal Government would be authorized to pay the cost of these paper systems for the November 2004 election.
The Voter Confidence & Increased Accessibility Act also requires that individuals with disabilities must be accommodated with electronic voting systems by January 1, 2006, a year earlier than mandated by HAVA. While a paper record of a disabled persons vote is not expressly required, voting systems for disabled persons must include a means for voter verification. In the event a jurisdiction cannot meet this standard, disabled voters must be given the option to utilize a temporary paper system, with the assistance of an aide of their choosing.
Finally, the legislation would require the Election Assistance Commission to conduct unannounced recounts in .5 percent of domestic jurisdictions and .5 percent of overseas jurisdictions. This way, Congress and America's voters can be assured that the election equipment is operating properly, and votes are really being counted.
Creating these new standards will help ensure that our elections accurately reflect the intent of the voting public, and put into place an election system in which Americans can have full confidence.
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getpage.cgi?dbname=2003_record&page=S16122&position=allMods: Public domain from the Congressional Record.
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
