Voter Action Statement in Support of Holt Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act
UPDATE: On June 17, 2009, Congressman Holt introduced the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act, HR 2894. To see the announcement of this bill's introduction and the list of 75 original co-sponsors in the House of Representatives, Click Here.
May 29, 2009
Voter Action strongly endorses the Holt Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act, soon to be introduced in the United States House of Representatives by Representative Rush Holt (D-NJ). This bill will create a federal mandate for verifiable and accessible voting systems in federal elections with paper ballots marked by voters by hand or through the use of non-tabulating ballot marking devices. It will ensure that voters in every precinct across the United States are guaranteed the right in a federal election to cast their votes using paper ballots. It will require election audits for every federal election where the winning candidate receives less than 80 percent of the vote.
To view the bill, Click Here.
The past several election cycles have demonstrated that electronic voting systems present a serious threat to the integrity of our elections. Direct Recording Electronic voting machines (DREs) have proven to be unreliable and insecure for the counting and recording of votes. Further, DRE systems repeatedly malfunction during elections, causing long lines and disenfranchising thousands of voters. And DRE systems provide no opportunity to conduct a meaningful recount or audit of an election. As a result, voters throughout the country have lost confidence in the accuracy of reported electoral outcomes in jurisdictions using DRE systems.
More than a century ago, the United States Supreme Court stated in the case of Yick Wo v. Hopkins, 118 U.S. 356, 370 (1886), that the right to vote is “a fundamental political right” which is “preservative of all rights.” The Holt Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act is a critical measure for helping to protect this most basic right. Voter Action applauds Representative Holt for his leadership on this important matter and urges the United States Congress to pass this bill.
To view the New York Time's endorsement of the Holt bill, Click Here.
