VerifiedVoting.org's Position on Federal Voter Verified Paper Ballot Legislation

Because federal voter-verified paper ballot (VVPB) legislation must be passed this year to prevent further purchases of paperless electronic voting systems, VerifiedVoting.org strongly supports the bills that have the bi-partisan support required for passage:  HR.2239 in the House and S.2437 in the Senate. We continue to support S.1980, but we encourage its co-sponsors to sign on to S.2437 as well.

VerifiedVoting.org's Position on Federal Voter Verified Paper Ballot Legislation

Federal voter-verified paper ballot legislation must be passed this year.  Strong bills with many excellent provisions are available; those that we believe have the best chance of passage are HR.2239 in the House and S.2437 in the Senate.  We can and must continue to press for all the necessary provisions to safeguard our elections, including robust random manual recounts and open source technology.

On the House side, we urge full support for Holt's original bill, HR.2239, the best in the House and the only House bill with bi-partisan support.  It has the strongest chance for passage in the House.

On the Senate side, we urge full support for Ensign's S.2437.  The newest bill has the fewest provisions, but does one critically important thing very well:  it requires Voter-Verified Paper Ballots, and it clearly states that the voter-verified paper ballots would be the ballots of record, with the VVPBs taking precedence in case of any discrepancy.  It is the only Senate bill with bi-partisan support, and has the best chance of moving forward and passing.

We continue to support Graham's S.1980, the first of the Senate bills and a duplicate of Holt's House bill.  It is strong, has no waiver language, and includes many excellent provisions.  The merged bill S.2313, also sponsored by Graham, we could support fully if modified.  It improves on the originals with many positive provisions but has waiver language that undermines the bill by allowing states to opt out of the paper ballot requirements.

VerifiedVoting.org also strongly urges the House Administration Committee and the Senate Rules Committee to hold hearings on these important bills as soon as possible.  Lawmakers must respond to the growing groundswell of grassroots support for voter-verified paper ballots and take action immediately to lift the embargo on secure elections.

VERIFIEDVOTING.ORG ON FEDERAL LEGISLATION
FOR VOTER VERIFIED PAPER BALLOTS (VVPBs)

(1220-word version)

Because federal voter-verified paper ballot (VVPB) legislation must be passed this year to prevent further purchases of paperless electronic voting systems, VerifiedVoting.org strongly supports the bills that have the bi-partisan support required for passage:  HR.2239 in the House and S.2437 in the Senate. We continue to support S.1980, but we encourage its co-sponsors to sign on to S.2437 as well.

A legislative approach to ensuring verifiability and auditability of electronic voting machines is filled with complexities--even contradictions. 

There are many desirable provisions a bill could contain to have a favorable impact on the conditions we face today.  Some of these provisions, alone, may not be sufficient.  Some of these will present greater obstacles to passage than others; some bills will have provisions that are outright undesirable. 

When conflicting bills are thrown into the arena together, lawmakers hash them together to come out with a final result.  Their responsibility is to listen to their constituents.  Our part of the bargain:  we must not fail to let our lawmakers know what we want in a bill, and why.

And legislation must be passed THIS YEAR.  State and local experience has shown that a deadline by which machines have to have voter verified paper ballots, even a deadline that goes beyond November 2004, results in fewer paperless touchscreens being purchased now. 

Our issue falls into both a national arena with federal legislation, and a county by county battleground, sometimes with incremental improvements rather than sweeping change.  One thing is undeniable:   in order to have even the opportunity for an auditable election, you must have something meaningful to audit.  A permanent paper record of the vote, verified by the voter, is essential.  By itself it is insufficient--but it is necessary.

US HOUSE of REPRESENTATIVES

VerifiedVoting.org has always been--and remains--committed to passage of HR.2239, Rep. Rush Holt's (D-NJ) original "Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act" first introduced in 2003.  This is a nearly ideal bill incorporating most of the key elements needed for a voter-verified paper ballot.  Grassroots efforts have shown enormous strength by helping to generate 147 co-sponsors to date (without any official Washington lobbying presence--no mean feat).

Nearly a year later, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) introduced a bill that seemed headed in the right direction, but although it calls for a voter-verified paper ballot, it misses the critical point that in the event of a discrepancy, the paper ballot must prevail over electronic.  Therefore we cannot endorse that bill as written.  We are encouraged, however, to see its 36 Republican co-sponsors demonstrate interest in the issue. 

Although public (and media) interest in this issue continues to grow daily, movement on legislation slowed  after four influential lawmakers from both chambers of Congress, both sides of the aisle, opposed further support by their colleagues for any voter-verified paper ballot legislation.  The March 3, 2004 "Dear Colleague" letter signed by Reps. Steny Hoyer (MD) and Bob Ney (OH), and Senators Chris Dodd (CT) and Mitch McConnell (KY), said they should simply "let the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) be implemented as written."

We continue to urge the House Government Reform Committee to re-schedule its promised hearings on this issue, planned for mid-May but not yet held.   And we most strongly urge the House Administration Committee and its chair, Rep. Bob Ney, to hold hearings on HR.2239 as soon as possible.

US SENATE

In the Senate, legislation had a very late start, with the first voter-verified paper ballot bill, S.1980 (Graham, D-FL) not introduced until December of 2003, and the latest arriving in May 2004. 

VerifiedVoting.org strongly supports S.1980.  This bill is the companion to Holt's HR.2239, identical in how it covers the essential bases.  We continue to request that every senator co-sponsor this bill-- particularly those standing for re-election this year--to commit publicly to their constituents their support for these critical elements of an open democracy. 

The RECORD Act, S.2313 (Graham, FL) an April 2004 merged bill incorporating others introduced by Senators Boxer (D-CA) and Clinton (D-NY), has many excellent provisions.  Among them, increasing the number of precincts subject to the surprise recounts from 0.5% to 2.0% and requiring that those precincts be selected at random.  We support this commendable bill, but with an important caveat:  its waiver provision, tailored for some states with extremely old lever machines, creates an extremely risky loophole that could undermine implementation of the bill.  (This provision allows states claiming it is "technologically impossible" to comply with the VVPB provisions by November to apply to the EAC for a waiver.  It is unclear how such waivers would be administered.)  The waiver language must be modified for it to receive our unqualified support.

In May 2004, Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) introduced the Voting Integrity and Verification Act (VIVA), S.2437, a new tactical approach targeted at one essential requirement.  Its minimum language, though limited in scope, accomplishes the heart of the issue, ensuring that any newly purchased electronic voting machine produces a voter-verified paper ballot--and that the paper ballot takes precedence in case of any discrepancy.  So far, it is the only Senate bill that has bipartisan support.

In essence, S.2437 is designed to control the HAVA funds to be distributed over the next 16 months.  Its simplicity removes the political obstacles of the first two bills, and it ensures that future elections will have voter-verified paper ballots.  We call in the strongest possible terms for every member, Republican and Democrat, to support this bill with co-sponsorship.

If, at a minimum, S. 2437 passes this session, it will ensure that all DRE voting machines must provide voter-verified paper ballots starting in 2006, and will therefore affect purchasing decisions starting earlier.  We can and must continue to press for additional provisions (e.g., surprise recounts in randomly selected precincts, disclosure of DRE software source code, etc.) both at the state level and in federal legislation.

It is vital that we continue to apply pressure to the Senate Rules Committee to hold hearings on these important bills as soon as possible.

CONCLUSION

Naysayers will say it is too late to take a stand for election integrity for this year (VVPB cannot be safely implemented, vendors cannot comply, pollworkers cannot be trained in time).  We disagree:  the vast majority of jurisdictions have used paper ballots in the past, and most still use them along with electronic equipment for absentee or provisional balloting.  It is not necessary to retrofit equipment by November; it is merely necessary to provide a sufficiency of paper ballots for all voters.  And it is necessary to ensure that any new voting system purchased--today, next week or next year--includes a voter-verified paper ballot. 

Let your lawmakers know it is not too soon for them to take a stand for election integrity and auditability.  Tell them it is time to lift the embargo on voter-verifiability.  Insist that they make their support public by co-sponsoring these bills. 

Because federal voter-verified paper ballot (VVPB) legislation must be passed this year to prevent further purchases of paperless electronic voting systems, VerifiedVoting.org strongly supports the bills that have the bi-partisan support required for passage:  HR.2239 in the House and S.2437 in the Senate. We continue to support S.1980, but we encourage its co-sponsors to sign on to S.2437 as well.