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Equal Protection of Voting Rights Act
of 2001
The National Association of Colored People (NAACP) has expressed
a great deal of concern regarding voting irregularities in the
November 7, 2000 election. They have been working closely with
other civil rights, civil liberties, voting rights, religious
and labor organizations to assist in the crafting of a bill
for House and Senate consideration. They would like the support
of all justice advocates for this legislation.
If passed, the bill would establish the Commission on Voting
Rights and Procedures to study and make recommendation regarding
election technology, voting and election administration. It
would develop uniform and nondiscriminatory election administration
standards which States will be required to implement for the
2004 general Federal elections. The bill also calls for the
establishment of a grant program under which the Office of Justice
Programs and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of
Justice shall provide assistance to States and localities in
improving the administration of elections.
This Commission would hold hearings, take testimony, receive
evidence and administer oaths to those called before them. They
could require subpoenas, testimony and the production of books,
records, correspondence, memoranda, papers, documents, tapes,
and materials as they or a sub-committee or member considers
advisable to carry out their mandate. The Chair and Vice Chair
of the commission will have to act jointly in the issuing of
any subpoena.
Many in the nation stayed riveted to their televisions as news
of election problems were reported following the November 7th
elections. Some members of Congress reported that they had witnessed
for themselves some irregularities. They heard from their constituents
about problems with voting procedures in their districts. This
bill, and several others have been introduced, to address those
concerns and ascertains. At this writing, there are 24 House
bills and 16 Senate bill pending on some aspect of the issue
of election reform.
In this particular bill, the sponsors remind us that the right
to vote is a fundamental and incontrovertible right under the
Constitution and that there is a need for congress to encourage
and enable every eligible American to vote by reaffirming that
the right to vote is a fundamental right. As fewer Americans
go to the election both, it is important that Congress encourage
and enable every eligible American to vote by reaffirming that
the United States is a democratic Government "of the people,
by the people, and for the people" where every vote does
count. To accomplish this, the bill advances that Congress must:
I. enable every eligible American to vote by eliminating
procedural, physical, and technical obstacles to voting.
II. counter discrimination in voting by removing barriers
to the exercise of the constitutionally protected right to
vote.
III. require the elimination of physical barriers to persons
with disabilities and impairments.
IV. safeguard the practice of purging illegal voters from
voter rolls that it does not result in the elimination of
legal voters as well.
V. ask that State governments continue to examine ways to
mprove the administration of elections and to modernize mechanisms
and machinery for voting.
VI. use its authority under section 5 of the 14th amendment
to the Constitution of the United States and the 15th amendment
to the constitution to enact legislation to address the equal
protection violations that may be caused by outdated voting
systems.
VII. recognize its obligation to ensure that the necessary
resources are available to States and localities to improve
election technology and election administration and to ensure
the integrity of and full participation of all Americans in
the democratic elections process.
VIII. assure that the design of ballots is uniform.
IX. reassure voters that access to ballots and polling places,
including the timely notice of voting locations and matters
relating to access is a valid expectation of the rights of
citizenship.
Proposed Commission:
Proponents of this bill as well as many citizens around the
nation, urge that the Commission have members who are knowledgeable
in election law, election technology, Federal, State or local
election administration, the Constitution or the history of
the United States. Of course it goes without saying that members
should also bring integrity, impartiality, and good judgement.
These qualifications are identified in the bill.
The 12-member Commission members will be appointed. Six by
the President, Three by the Minority Leader of the Senate. If
the Minority is of the same party as the President then it will
be the Senate Majority Leader who selects these three. The remaining
three members will be appointed by the House Minority Leader,
unless again this is the same party as the Presidency. In which
case, the House Majority Leader will select these final three
persons. This determination is to assure balance of political
party representation. The Chair and Vice Chair of the Commission
should be selected by the members themselves and should not
be from the same party.
It is expected that the Commission will be on call once they
have had their initial meeting which must be scheduled within
twenty days of their appointment. They will be empowered to
hold hearings when a problem arises in an election.
Hopes and Expectations-
It is hoped that the Commission will help develop standards
by which federal elections can be held. These standards would
include the technical specifications for voting machines, provisional
voting procedures, and the preparation and distribution of sample
ballots. These are the situations that raised questions and
concerns during the 2000 election where so many Americans say
that they were disenfranchised and robbed of their right to
vote.
The Equal Protection of Voting Rights Act of 2001 calls for
Voting Machines that may work very much the way our Automatic
Teller Machines work at our local banks. These machines would:
- permit the voter to verify the votes selected before the
ballot is cast and tabulated;
- before the vote is actually tabulated;
- produce a paper record of the vote that was cast;
- be accessible for individuals with disabilities and other
individuals with special needs;
- not have an error rate of more than 1%.
Many of us have wondered why it has taken so long for an important
endeavor as voting to catch up with the availability of technology.
We can access our checking account almost anywhere there is
an ATM machine. With election procedure reform, the day may
come when we can also access the voting both from our work,
vacation or business trip. This may encourage greater political
participation by voters who have not voted in years.
It has been suggested that perhaps we should declare election
day a federal holiday in order to assure greater participation
in the process. Although many voting places are open early in
the morning and stay open for a few hours after the ususal 9
to 5 work day, many people find it difficult to get to the polls
as they juggle the demands of family and employer. It is also
clear that as we hope to increase voter participation, we will
also have to improve the training of those who are the election
personnel and volunteers.
Provisional Voters
This proposed legislation suggest that there be a standard
set that would allow for provisional voting. Rather then simply
turning people away because their name can not be found on the
list or because there is some doubt about their citizenship
or criminal record, they would be allowed to cast a vote as
a "Provisional Voter". All Provisional Votes would
be sent promptly to a State or Local office to verify the individuals
claim that they are indeed eligible to vote. This is probably
a good idea in order to prevent people from being turned away,
however, it may be necessary to find a way to assure that previously
marginalized people are not abused even by this system that
is intended to protect them. Special attention needs to be given
to individuals who may need help in understanding the voting
process as someone who may be a first time voter or have limited
English proficiency.
Continuing Voter's Rights Laws
Other voting rights Acts will still be in force if this were
to become law:
The National Voter Registration Act of 1993,
The Voting Rights Act of 1965,
The Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act
,
the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act,
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
Suggested Action
Those who do not wish to see any changes in the current electoral
process are counting on the ususal short term memory of the
general public. With the 2000 elections behind us, there are
those who do not expect much to really happen in Washington
or the state legislatures regarding election reform. But this
like all issues, is dependant on the pressure from the public
by constituents.
What can you do-
1) Contact your federal and state elected officials and ask
that reforms be put in place before the next elections in 2004.
2) Get to know who your local voting commissioner is and consider
volunteering during the next elections.
3) Encourage friends, family members, church members and co-workers
to get involved and not be discouraged.
For a range of information on electoral reform, readers may
want to check the following web sites:
General Assembly Guidance:
The 1983 General Assembly called upon "all Presbyterians,
congregations, and presbyteries to: Initiate, organize, and
support voter registration projects within their voting districts
or geographic areas, and in particular, Unite with local organizing
efforts, encourage and assist low-income persons to register,
vote, and be effective participants in the governmental processes
of the nation (Minutes 1983, Part I, page 827).
In 1990, the General Assembly "urge(d) Presbyterians to
help expand voting rights..." The Assembly called upon
then "President Bush to support the National voter Registration
Act of 1990 (Minutes 1990, Part I, page 522).
Stewardship of Public Life - Civil Rights & Religious Liberties
Is published quarterly by the Presbyterian Church (USA) Washington
Office, 110 Maryland Avenue, NE, Washington, DC 20002. Tel.
202-543-1126.
This article was written by Elenora Giddings Ivory of the Washington
Office staff. Series editor: Rich Houston. Issue date: April
2001. For information about regular or email subscriptions or
reprint permission, please contact Rich Houston at rhouston@ctr.pcusa.org.
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